In the Forests of the Night
by Kate1221
Summary: After Dumbledore's death Snape becomes the much hated new Headmaster of Hogwarts. Among all the misery, the presence of the quaint Luna Lovegood is the only thing that brightens Snape's day. That is, until the Dark Lord captures her ...
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **This story will eventually be Luna/Snape, though there's a lot of friendship before that. Still, if you dislike this pairing, I suggest you find another story to read. This fanfic will be a little over 50 000 words long when it's complete - the first chapter is the shortest. I am very pleased with the way this turned out, and I hope you will enjoy it as well.

_Chapter one_

Snape watched as the first students entered the Great Hall. They were sneezing and dripping water all over the floor. A look at the ceiling confirmed what he already knew: there was a storm going on outside. The large House tables slowly began to fill up with wet students, and Snape observed them as they sat down. Most of them looked worn and pale. As a matter of fact, the only students that still looked like they had anything to be happy about were his Slytherins.

He wasn't too happy about that.

Snape's eyes roved over the Gryffindor table. As he had hoped – and expected – there was no sign of the Golden Trio. Not that that meant much: if they'd truly been stupid enough to try and get on the Hogwarts Express, they'd have been captured long before they even laid eyes on the school. He could only hope that Dumbledore had trained his lap dogs better than that.

With some interest he noted that the Weasley girl and Longbottom _had _returned to the school. The both of them were looking decidedly gloomier than the other students. However, if the Weasley girl and Longbottom were here, that had to mean the last of the menaces was present as well. His gaze swept over the Ravenclaw table – and, indeed, there was Lovegood, looking as unperturbed as ever.

After five years of teaching her, the girl still was a mystery to him. She appeared to have permanently settled in some other world beyond anyone's imagination, and no matter what comments people threw at her, they just slid off her as though there was some invisible barrier around her. It should make sense, then, that Lovegood looked happy even though there was nothing to be happy about. He noted with some distaste that the girl was still wearing her radish earrings – didn't she know that the Death Eaters in the school would pick on her for such a thing at the first opportunity?

His eyes moved from the Lovegood girl to the Death Eaters sitting a few spots away. Snape noted that there had carefully been left two empty chairs around them – it seemed that none of the teachers had wished to sit next to them.

Nor had anyone sat down next to him, for that matter.

Alecto's beady eyes were eagerly observing the students, and her fists were unconsciously clenching and unclenching. She was, no doubt, thinking of all the horrible things that she would be inflicting onto the students this year. Next to her, Amycus was looking a little less fearsome – but that was only because he was too stupid to seem truly dangerous. How he was ever supposed to keep the students safe with those two around he couldn't possibly fathom.

Just then there was some commotion outside the Hall, and the entrance doors swung open, admitting a stream of nervous first-years. Fewer, Snape observed, than there had been last year. Obviously, the news that he was to be the school's new Headmaster had made some parents refrain from sending their children to Hogwarts. Snape could only agree with their sentiments.

He watched as the first-years took place beneath the Sorting Hat one by one, and were each sorted into their respective houses. As always, there were cheers from whatever table the new student joined, but they were noticeably less loud than usual. Only at the Slytherin table were the cheers as loud as ever.

When the last student had been Sorted, the time came for his speech. However, Snape was hardly looking forward to that particular part of the evening. Seeking to prolong the time until he was forced to stand up and speak, he once more let his eyes go over the students he most expected to cause trouble. Longbottom and Weasley were already looking about as rebellious as he had ever seen them, and it seemed foolish to hope that they would keep their heads down and do as they were told this year. They were not the only Gryffindors who looked murderous – most of what had once been Dumbledore's Army was with them. The Hufflepuff table looked rather upset, too, but not as rebellious as the Gryffindors. Most of the Hufflepuffs, at least, would have the sense to remain unnoticed. As would many Ravenclaws.

His eyes reached the Lovegood girl, only to find that she was already looking at him. For a moment or two, their gazes locked. Then the girl gave a tiny smile and went back to their food. Had Snape been anything less disciplined, he might have looked surprised. As it were, he sighed almost inaudibly and stood up for his speech.

* * *

As it turned out, he had been right about the Gryffindors. The silly children just could not seem to grasp the fact that to leave the warmth of their beds was to leave what scarce protection the castle could still offer them. Despite the many vigils of the Carrows, the students kept sneaking out in the middle of the night to wreak havoc. As such, it happened quite often that one of his students found themselves receiving a severe punishment. And 'severe' in this case did not mean writing lines for the next three months – no, it meant having the Imperius curse practiced on you, or even the Cruciatus curse. And yet, despite these horrendous punishments, the students would not give up their resistance. Though he tried to assign as many of the punishments himself as he could, he could not avoid the occasional student ending up at the Carrows' mercy.

It seemed foolish that the little rebels still hadn't given up their practices. The only reason the Carrows' punishments had been bearable to him was that he'd thought one punishment would be enough to teach any student a lesson. Unfortunately, he had been wrong. No matter how many times they were beaten up, no matter what the Carrows made them do – the children just would not back down. And then to think that the only reason they were suffering these punishments was because they'd occasionally painted something on the walls, or had shouted at the Carrows in class.

Tonight, however, it seemed the students had finally grasped the danger of roaming about the school.

Snape was almost at the end of his patrol, and so far he hadn't encountered a single student. Not a single daring Gryffindor first-year. Not one righteous Hufflepuff. Perhaps, then, he would not be forced to hand over another student to the relentless Carrows tonight …

His hopes were bored into the ground the moment he rounded the corner. There, looking as serene as ever, was Luna Lovegood. A paintbrush was held loosely in her hand, red paint still dripping from its tip. On the wall, the wet paint shimmering in the candlelight, stood: 'Dumbledore's Army, Still Recruiting'. _Of all the foolish things_ –

'Miss Lovegood!' he snapped, startling the girl from her activities. She turned to face him, the hand with the paintbrush lowering. The paint was now dripping onto the stone floor of the hall.

'Oh, hello, Headmaster. How are you tonight?'

For several seconds he attempted to find an appropriate answer to that question, then he finally settled on ignoring it completely. He waved toward the paint on the wall. 'Miss Lovegood, what in the name of Merlin is that supposed to mean?'

'It's called graffiti, sir,' she said, seriously. She passed the paintbrush from one hand into the other, and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, leaving behind a smear of paint.

'I know what it's _called_, Miss Lovegood.'

She beamed at him. 'I wasn't implying that you didn't, but since you asked …'

That girl never did cease to astonish him. In a bad way. To be honest, he was irked that he'd caught a Ravenclaw rather than a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff. He had thought that those of the House of the wise Rowena Ravenclaw would be smart enough not to wander about at night at the present conditions.

'Being out of bed after hours is a punishable offense, Miss Lovegood.'

'Of course.'

The red smudge on her cheek was proving to be incredibly distracting, and he had to quell the urge to wipe it away.

'I will need to punish you,' he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel another headache building.

'All right.'

'"All right"? Miss Lovegood, this is anything but "all right". I could take you to the Carrows right now and see to it that you are properly _reproached_.'

'But you won't, sir.'

He stared at her happy face, the twinkling eyes, the radish earrings that even the Carrows hadn't yet managed to make her take off, and wondered how in Circe's name she'd ended up here.

'Miss Lovegood, have you forgotten that I am a Death Eater? You are hardly in a position to judge what I will or will not do. You will be quiet and show me the respect I deserve.'

Lovegood's bulging eyes widened slightly in surprise. 'Oh! I do apologize, sir. I didn't realise I was being disrespectful. Must be the influence of the Wrackspurts – I thought my brain seemed rather fuzzy.'

He wondered briefly what a Wrackspurt was, then decided that he was probably better off not knowing.

'You will return to your bed now, Miss Lovegood. And you will be reporting to Filch for detention tomorrow evening.' The smile she gave him was blinding, and the pounding in his head instantly increased. 'Now get out of my sight, before I decide to take more serious measures.'

The smile didn't disappear from her face as she picked up her bucket of paint and walked away from him. He stared down at the red spots on the floor and wondered why she hadn't simply used her wand.

* * *

In the next few days, he found that the Lovegood girl was occupying a rather larger part of his thoughts than he would have liked. For some reason, he now noticed her everywhere. No matter where he went, she'd be there, sitting in some window sill reading a book, or otherwise gazing dreamily outside.

If he had stopped to think about it, he would have realised that the reason for her persistent presence in his head was that she, quite simply, was a spot of colour in an otherwise bleak day. As all around her the faces grew paler and the expressions grimmer, Lovegood simply looked more radiant. No matter what punishments were inflicted upon her, she continued to smile. And not just smile – she actually smiled at_ him_. At first he was certain it was a mistake – surely Lovegood had no reason to smile at him? However, as the days passed and he kept having chance encounters with the girl, he became more and more convinced that she _was _smiling at him.

The only question was: _why_? What motivation could she possibly have to smile at a Death Eater, and the murderer of the students' beloved Dumbledore to boot?

And as he looked at her friendly face now, he could still not understand.

'I will ask you for the last time: why have you broken into my office and why did you try to steal that sword?' he barked at the three in front of him. 'Why is it so important to you?'

No answer was coming. Longbottom was staring at a spot somewhere above Snape's shoulder, and though he was pale, he did not appear as afraid as he would normally have done in a similar situation. The Weasley girl, unlike Longbottom, was not avoiding his eyes. Rather, she was staring at him with such intensity and ferociousness that he was tempted to believe she intended to burn him with her very eyes. Lovegood met his eyes as well, though there was no hate or anger to be found in her expression. Why, he could not fathom.

'I honestly do not know what you hope to gain by these foolish actions,' he snapped, circling around the trio. 'Surely by now you will have realized that all they earn you are detentions?' He could not imagine how those dunderheads had still not grasped the simple fact that resistance was useless. Countless times he had tried to impress upon them that the only possible outcome of these actions was disaster, but the students seemed to be about as receptive as a stone wall.

Weasley, Longbottom and Lovegood kept quiet. Longbottom had turned a shade paler.

'Very well, in that case I shall have to assign you detention.' He swept around his desk and sat down, pulling a piece of parchment toward him and scribbling a short message on it. He then sealed it and handed it to Longbottom. 'You will have detention with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest tonight at eleven. Give this to him, and see to it that you arrive on time. I need not say that the consequences of showing up late will be severe.'

The three turned to leave. Longbottom nearly dropped the piece of parchment in his haste, and the Weasley girl was already by the door before he had finished speaking.

'Miss Lovegood,' he said, just as Weasley pulled open the door. 'If you would please stay a moment.'

Weasley and Longbottom exchanged alarmed looks. Lovegood, however, appeared completely unfazed and went to sit down on one of the chairs in front of his desk. Weasley and Longbottom still hadn't left.

'Longbottom, Miss Weasley, I do not believe I invited you.'

'You don't honestly expect us to –' the redhead began.

'Ginny, really, it's all right,' Lovegood interrupted, still smiling brilliantly. 'I will see you in a bit.'

Weasley cast him another dark look, then disappeared through the door along with Longbottom. Snape turned his attention back to the girl in front of him. Lovegood was still looking as serene as she always did.

'Miss Lovegood?'

'Yes, Headmaster?'

He scowled. It appeared as though it was nearly impossible to frustrate Lovegood. 'Why did the three of you attempt to steal Gryffindor's sword?' Snape had assumed that he would have better results questioning just Lovegood than questioning all of them, and he was not disappointed.

Lovegood looked surprised. 'Why, I thought that would have been clear. We were simply trying to boost the students' morale a bit, and what boosts morale better than a heirloom of Godric Gryffindor?'

It sounded fair enough. Still, it seemed slightly suspicious that out of all the things those three could have chosen to do, they ended up going for the sword – the one thing in his office that he actually cared to keep.

'Is that all, Miss Lovegood?' he prompted, his tone as icy as he could make it.

Lovegood nodded. 'It actually was my idea,' she added, smiling. Snape merely stared. 'You see,' she continued, 'I knew it would be all right, because you would never harm us. I said that to Neville and Ginny too, but I'm not sure they believed me.' She looked a bit sad at this.

'What do you mean: "you would never harm us"?' He asked sharply. 'Certainly you are not as daft as you look, Miss Lovegood? Use those brains you are rumoured to have, and perhaps then you would realise that what you are saying is utter nonsense.'

Lovegood regarded him expressionlessly. 'That is not a very nice thing to say to somebody.'

'What?' he snapped. 'What are you rambling about, Miss Lovegood?'

'I get told often enough that I'm daft, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it,' she stated calmly. 'So I would really prefer it if you could refrain from calling me that.'

Snape gazed at her mutely. The girl was actually reproaching a known Death Eater and murderer for addressing her as 'daft'. He did not think the situation could get much more complicated.

'Miss Lovegood, I do not think you realize who I am –'

'Oh, I know who you are,' she said, leaning forward. The radish earrings swayed dangerously.

'Do not presume to know me!' he barked, quickly losing his patience.

Lovegood looked offended. 'Really, you might want to work on your social skills. You've got about as much charisma as a frigsplat.'

'Miss Lovegood, I do not know nor care what a frigsplat is. The only thing I desire to hear from you is how you possibly got it into your head that you are safe here.'

'I didn't say I thought I was safe here. I just said that you would never harm us,' she corrected him, fingering the ridiculous butterbeer cork necklace. 'After all, you're on our side.'

This conversation was getting more dangerous by the minute. 'I do not know what you are talking about, Miss Lovegood – I am not on your side at all.'

'But you are!' she exclaimed, smiling. 'It's clear as day. All these punishments you've been handing out aren't really punishments at all. And I've only ever seen you look at the Carrows with distaste – but then I suppose that is logical. How anyone could like them is beyond me.'

'Miss Lovegood …'

'And of course, Dumbledore trusted you, which counts for something, I suppose.'

'I _murdered _Dumbledore, Miss Lovegood! You would do well to remember that. I will not hesitate to hurt you should the situation demand it.'

Lovegood gave him another one of those sad smiles. 'I think we both know that's not true, sir.'

'Leave, Miss Lovegood. And do not forget your detention tonight, or you will be in serious trouble.'

Lovegood looked as though she was about to say something, but Snape merely averted his eyes and began arranging the parchments on his desk. He did not look up again until he heard the door close.

This was going to be a rather serious problem.

He spent the next few days observing everyone around him, and the Carrows with special care. If the Lovegood girl had found out his true allegiance, then who was to say no one else had? He had mentally berated himself over and over – it was a miracle he had survived this long when even the merest slip of a girl could see right through his disguise. He spent long evenings pacing through his office, going over all of his actions, every conversation he'd had. He observed his fellow teachers for any change in attitude that might suggest they knew his secret.

At long last, he was forced to conclude that, incredibly, Lovegood was the only one who had found him out. And yet, the ease with which she had explained how she had known he was on the right side, the simple clues that she had named – they frightened him. He would have to watch himself, become even more careful, if he desired to survive.

'Severus?'

He sighed, and slowly turned toward the wall on which Dumbledore's portrait hung. The old man was regarding him calmly from inside his frame.

'What is it?'

The painted Dumbledore sat up a little straighter. 'You've been looking rather tense, lately, my boy. Is something the matter?'

'You know perfectly well what the matter is,' replied Snape, turning his back on the painting and resuming his pacing.

'Truly, Severus, is it so hard to believe that Miss Lovegood may just have more insight than other people?'

'Actually, it is,' he snapped. 'But that is not what really matters. What matters is that if she can figure it out, anyone can.'

'I do not think so.'

Snape whirled around to face the portrait. Dumbledore was looking back at him quite calmly. 'Do you not? Then what, pray tell, _do _you think?'

'I think that most people are simply too blinded by hatred to see your true allegiance,' mused Dumbledore. 'They see what they want to see. Miss Lovegood is different in that aspect. Less … tended to see what she is expected to see.'

'Well, I am glad it is all solved then,' he said sarcastically, turning his back on the portrait once more.

'Severus …'

Snape elected to exit the office rather than face the portrait.

* * *

Ever since Lovegood's startling claim that she knew his true allegiance, he seemed to be seeing her everywhere. She always ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at the precise time that he did (that is, if he showed up at all), she had mastered the art of unexpectedly showing up on the floor that he was on too, and she was to be found near the entrance to his office way too often.

He would never admit that he was seeking her out.

Lovegood, with her insane mannerisms and strange outings, was an only too welcome distraction from the hardships of his work as a spy. Her oddness was strangely soothing, and there seemed to be a permanent aura of calmness about her. The fact that someone could worry about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and Blibbering Humdingers while the Dark Lord was on the loose was rather a pleasant change.

Snape had even managed to procure several editions of _The Quibbler_, the out-of-this-world magazine that Lovegood's father owned. As he had expected, it was full of imaginary creatures and impossible conspiracies. Plotting to bring the Ministry down from within using a combination of Dark magic and gum disease? It was immediately clear from whence Lovegood's peculiar beliefs originated.

Nevertheless, they were … interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter two_

Christmas was almost upon them, but the accessories that usually decorated the castle were nowhere to be found. There was no mistletoe, nor were there any wreaths or singing suits of armour. The twelve trees that normally stood in the Great Hall were conspicuous in their absence. The Carrows' policy left no room for warmth and companionship.

Though the Dark Lord had not expressly forbidden to celebrate Christmas, the Carrows still seemed to think that anything that might come close to a happy event should be avoided. As such, they had taken it upon themselves to get rid of all Christmas decorations. Snape had agreed – he'd had to. He could hardly defend himself in a matter like this should he choose to go against the Carrows.

However, he could not deny that the castle felt strangely empty and bereft.

When he caught fragments of a song, he was surprised. When he identified the voice, the surprise abated and made place for concern. He swept down the hallways, in the direction of the singing. The moonlight falling in through the large windows lit his way somewhat, and it was easy enough to find the origin of the sound.

It seemed that Luna Lovegood had taken it upon herself to decorate the castle for Christmas.

She didn't stop singing as he neared the marble staircase, the banisters of which she was decorating. He saw her turn her head as he approached, and, after considering him, she went right back to her work. Seeing Lovegood decorating the banisters while singing some Christmas carol was strangely fascinating.

'Miss Lovegood,' he said at last, not daring to linger any longer. 'What are you doing?'

'Oh, I would think that obvious,' she replied happily. 'I'm decorating the castle.'

'I shall rephrase the question,' he said, ascending a stair or two. 'Why are you decorating the castle when the Carrows have expressly forbidden it?'

'Daddy always says rules are made to be broken,' said Lovegood, as she attached an icicle to the banister. 'I think he is right in this case. The students would really benefit from being in a friendly atmosphere.'

'Miss Lovegood, surely you are aware of the consequences should you be caught?'

She turned to look at him, her eyes bulging even more than usual. 'I have already been caught.'

Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. 'You know what I am talking about.'

Lovegood looked ecstatic. 'Are you finally admitting that you're on our side?'

'I have said no such thing, Miss Lovegood!' he hissed, ascending another few stairs.

Lovegood shrugged. 'Well, since you're here, you might as well help me put up these decorations. It's a large castle, you know, and I doubt I'll finish before morning. I was considering asking the DA for help, but I'd like it to be a surprise for them, too.'

'Miss Lovegood, you cannot possibly be thinking that I will assist you in this foolish endeavour.'

'Why not?' she asked, seriously. 'Are you afraid you'll blow your cover? It's all right, I already know.'

'It's not about that, Miss Lovegood!' he snapped. 'How do you think it would look should the Carrows find me putting up Christmas decorations?'

Lovegood looked thoughtful. 'Well, if you won't help me decorate,' she said at last, picking up her bag, 'you can at least stand on the lookout.'

'I – Miss Lovegood!'

She had already taken off, leaving him to follow in her wake. As he followed her through empty halls, their steps resounding hollowly, he wondered why he even tolerated this behaviour. Had Lovegood been any other student, he'd already have them in his office and set up for detention. Why was this girl so different? Was it just because she was the only person to have guessed his true allegiance, that he was so tolerant when it came to her? It occurred to him that what he was doing was rather foolish, dangerous, even, but somehow he could not help but follow the girl as she dashed through the castle, taking mistletoe from her bag and putting it up.

'Hagrid gave them to me,' she explained to him. 'I didn't tell him what I needed them for, of course.'

'Of course.' Why hadn't it even occurred to Hagrid that Lovegood might use that mistletoe to illegally decorate the school? Was he then perhaps not the only one dazzled by her personality? Or did the half-giant simply not care about rule-breaking? Well, he supposed Hagrid would be rather fond of the idea of Potter's friends wreaking havoc. Speaking of which …

'Have you seen Potter lately?' he interrogated Lovegood. She paused in removing more mistletoe from the bag.

'No, but I suppose that's a good thing,' she said, thoughtfully. 'Why are you asking?'

'That is none of your concern, Miss Lovegood.'

He watched as she used her wand to put up the last of the mistletoe and stood back to observe the result. 'They're full of Wrackspurts, of course.'

'Excuse me?'

'Wrackspurts. Tiny creatures that float into your ear and make your brain go all fuzzy,' she clarified, gesturing wildly with her hands. 'I did treat the mistletoe beforehand, so I hope there won't be too many of them.'

'Too many of … Miss Lovegood, there is no such thing as a Wrackspurt.'

'Who says that?'

'Its existence has never been proven, nor does anyone suspect they exist at all.'

'I don't suspect they exist, I _know _they exist,' Luna countered. 'And the existence of Wrackspurts may not have been proven, but it hasn't been disproven either. And besides, there are countless reports of eyewitnesses!'

'Naturally,' he said, faintly amused.

'Well, at least you're taking it well,' she decided, picking up the bag. 'Most people completely close their mind to the possibility of Wrackspurts.'

Snape wisely chose to hold his tongue.

At that precise moment, a cloud moved in front of the moon, and the hallway they were standing in was flooded by darkness. Something was off. In the distance there was the faint sound of footsteps getting closer.

'Miss Lovegood!' he hissed, feeling around for the girl. 'Someone is approaching! Leave!'

'But I can't see a thing,' Luna protested out of the darkness. 'Who knows what dangerous things I might run into!'

It was already too late anyway, Snape thought, as he listened to the sound getting closer. The person approaching was only seconds away from turning the corner. Deciding to make the best of the situation, Snape took two steps away from Lovegood and lit his wand, before saying in a loud voice: 'Miss Lovegood, what are you doing out of bed?'

At that precise moment, Amycus Carrow rounded the corner and stopped, watching the scene from a distance.

If Lovegood was surprised by his actions, she didn't show it.

'I'm sorry, sir. I sleepwalk. That's why I wear shoes to bed.'

'And clothes, too?' came Amycus' wheezy voice from behind Snape.

'Well, yes,' Lovegood said flatly. 'It gets awfully cold here in winter.'

For a moment, Snape thought the lie might hold. After all, Lovegood was well-known for her eccentricities, even under the Carrows. However, Amycus' eyes had wandered to the ceiling, and had come to rest upon the mistletoe that was suspended there.

'Really?' he wheezed, pointing at the ceiling. 'Then what be that?'

Snape decided that he had watched things play out for long enough. It was time to step in. 'Miss Lovegood, this is unacceptable behaviour. You will accompany me to my office now and there you shall receive the details on your punishment.'

'Well really Snape,' said Amycus, letting out a choking laugh. 'Why don't you lemme share in the fun? I'm sure Alecto knows a nice trick or two … And I hear Crabbe has been waiting to try out some curses he found somewhere …'

'Carrow,' Snape spat, with as much venom as he could muster. 'Need I remind you that I am the Headmaster here and that my word is final?' When Carrow looked as though he was going to protest, Snape added, 'If you disagree, you are more than welcome to take it up with the Dark Lord.'

He turned his back on the man again and grabbed Lovegood's shoulder, escorting her away from Carrow. Once they had rounded the corner, he let go, but did not stop walking. Lovegood had enough sense to follow him. It was essential that he take her up to his office – Carrow was more than capable of following him to see if he would truly punish her. They reached the gargoyles that guarded the entrance to his office, and Snape muttered the password ('Dumbledore'). When the gargoyles had leapt aside, he stepped onto the ascending staircase, Lovegood following close behind, the ridiculous bag still clutched in her hand. They ascended in silence.

Once inside the office, Snape made straight for the desk, expecting Lovegood to take place on the other side. However, the girl seemed to think that just because she was in the Headmaster's office outside hours she was allowed the privilege of looking around. She had begun inspecting the various fragile silver instruments that had once been Dumbledore's. One of the instruments, upon being picked up, began to make tingling sounds and produce coloured smoke.

'Miss Lovegood, put that down immediately.'

Lovegood put the instrument down, though she still looked at it interestedly. 'What does it do?'

'I do not know, nor am I interested in knowing. Now, if you would be so kind as to – '

'It was mine,' interrupted a voice from the wall. Both Snape and Lovegood turned toward the origin of the voice. Dumbledore had abandoned the pretence of being asleep that he otherwise kept up so carefully around the school's residents. Snape rewarded him with a dirty look.

'Headmaster, I do not see how this –'

But the damage had already been done. Lovegood had floated toward the portrait and was now gazing up at Dumbledore with dreamy interest. 'It was yours?'

Dumbledore nodded.

'What does it do, then?'

'Well, no one is one hundred percent certain,' said Dumbledore thoughtfully, his blue eyes twinkling like mad behind the half-moon spectacles. 'I always used it to confirm certain matters. If I, say, had a very strong suspicion about something, I would take that instrument, and look at the smoke that came out of it. Of course, reading the outcome accurately and learning to ask the right questions is difficult and takes years of practice.'

Lovegood's gaze had wandered once again to the silver instrument.

Dumbledore, interpreting her gaze correctly, said 'You can have it, if you want.'

'Really?' Lovegood asked, a smile firmly in place on her face. 'Thank you, Professor.'

Dumbledore waved the thanks away and smiled. Snape, however, was not as pleased. As Lovegood had picked up the instrument again and was observing it, he moved closer toward the portrait.

'I would appreciate it if you did not give away any items that belong to the school,' he said in an undertone.

Dumbledore made a minimizing gesture. 'Really, Severus, that instrument was mine to begin with.'

'No!' Snape hissed. 'It was never _yours_, because all you are is a godforsaken portrait! You may retain the memories and personality of the person you were based on, but you are not Albus Dumbledore, and you would do well to remember that.'

'Severus, you are out of line.' Dumbledore's tone had turned suddenly icy.

'I beg to differ. _You _are out of line. If you think I will take orders from a portrait simply because it resembles the _great _Albus Dumbledore, you are sorely mistaken.'

'There is a reason why you should take my orders, Severus. I have knowledge that you do not possess.'

'I am not some brainless paw that you can manipulate and move around as you desire. Agree or disagree – at the end of the day _you _are merely a portrait, and _I_ am still a man of flesh and blood, and it will be my orders that are carried out and not yours.'

The painted Dumbledore opened his mouth to reply, but his next few words completely escaped Snape. His left forearm had begun to burn with an incredible intensity. The Dark Lord was waiting, and he was not pleased. Snape's brain dimly registered that the portrait was still rambling. 'Be quiet!' he snapped, effectively shutting up the portrait.

Lovegood, alerted by his screamed order, turned around to face him. He took the opportunity to bark some orders at her. 'Miss Lovegood, I have an errand to run. Kindly let yourself out. I shall speak with you at a later date.'

And without even awaiting her reply he swept out of the room.

* * *

'I do apologize for his behaviour, Miss Lovegood,' Dumbledore's portrait said, breaking the silence. 'But I think we both know he is under a rather lot of pressure.'

'There is no need to apologize. I haven't been offended.'

Slipping the fragile instrument into her pocket, Luna stood up and walked toward the exit. When she tried the door, however, it would not open.

'I am afraid that is not going to be of any use,' remarked Dumbledore. 'It seems that our Headmaster, in his haste, forgot that he updated the wards of this office so that visitors can only enter or exit in his presence.'

'Oh,' said Luna.

'I do not think Severus will be very upset if you sit down,' Dumbledore's portrait said kindly. The other portraits nodded in assent. Luna sat down on the chair in front of the Headmaster's desk. 'Now, if I may ask, what brought you here?'

'Nothing too serious, I hope?' asked the portrait of a friendly-looking woman.

'Back in my day,' began a man with dark hair and sallow skin, 'we did not tolerate behaviour that was out of bounds. When a student was out of line, they were punished. And punished thoroughly, at that.'

'I can assure you that these students have already been punished enough, Phineas,' said Dumbledore calmly. 'Now if you would kindly let Miss Lovegood speak?'

'Oh! It's not a very thrilling tale,' Luna told them.

'We would still be interested in hearing it, Miss Lovegood.'

'Well, in all actuality, I was out of bed to put up Christmas decorations. I thought it might help to cheer up the other students a bit.'

'That was very thoughtful of you, Miss Lovegood,' smiled Dumbledore. 'But certainly you were aware of the dangers that action entailed?'

'I think we both know that as long as Professor Snape is here, I will be protected.'

'Clever, Miss Lovegood.'

'I would hardly say it was clever. Anyone with a brain that's not full of Wrackspurts could have figured it out.'

The sallow-skinned man leaned forward in his frame. 'Wrack-whats?'

'Wrackspurts. Haven't you heard of them?'

'What in the name of Merlin is a Wracksbird?'

* * *

When Snape finally returned to Hogwarts, he was both exhausted and in a rather large amount of pain. The trek to his office seemed never-ending, and when he finally arrived at the entrance, he could scarcely find the breath to tell the gargoyles the password. The ascending staircase was a blessing. Just as he was about to push open the door to his office, he heard voices inside. He whipped his wand out within a second, and, ignoring his protesting muscles, swept into the office. However, it was not an enemy waiting for him on the other side.

It was Luna Lovegood. And she appeared to be engaged in an enthralling conversation with the various portraits of headmasters and headmistresses past, many of whom where looking fairly amused. One portrait, however, did not seem to share the others' sentiments.

Phineas Nigellus' sallow face had assumed a rather red colour. 'I am telling you, girl, there is no such thing as a Blibbering Humdinger, nor will there ever be!'

'Well, that's your opinion. It's a shame some people have the open-mindedness of an aquivirius maggot,' replied Lovegood, completely unfazed.

'It is not an opinion, it is a fact, you stupid girl! Just because it hasn't occurred to your dim-witted –'

'Phineas, that is quite enough,' Snape interrupted, effectively alerting both the girl and the portraits to his presence. Lovegood spun around.

'Oh, hello.'

'Miss Lovegood, I do believe I told you to leave,' Snape accused, making his way toward his chair and falling down upon it with rather less grace than he would have liked. 'I do not think that order was very much open to interpretation.'

'Oh! Your orders were perfectly clear, sir, as always,' Lovegood said, nodding.

'Then why, pray tell, have you not left?'

'Your wards, Severus,' said Dumbledore's portrait gently. 'She could not leave.'

'Ah.' He sank down a bit further into his chair. Of course. How could he have been stupid enough to forget that visitors could only enter or exit in his presence? Granted, it was a rather unhandy measure – but he did not want to risk having the Carrows snoop about in his office. As he lowered his wand, his hands were shaking.

'Are you all right?' inquired Lovegood.

Snape cursed her powers of observation. 'I am fine, Miss Lovegood, and even if I wasn't, it would be none of your concern.'

'That's not true,' said Lovegood, sitting down on the edge of his desk.

'Miss Lovegood, please remove yourself from my desk.'

The bulging blue eyes turned on him, ever inquisitive. 'Are you in pain? Did he torture you?'

'Miss Lovegood, that is none of your concern. Now,' he got up from his chair, exerting a reasonable amount of effort, 'if you would please follow me out of here.'

He strode toward the door, noting with displeasure that he could not keep his keep his right leg from dragging slightly. From the corner of his eye, he saw Lovegood follow him. They stepped onto the staircase, and it promptly began to descend. Lovegood had reached his side, and was now staring intently at his robes.

'What is it?' he snapped at last.

'Only that you've got a bit of blood on your robes,' Lovegood explained. 'You should clean it, or it'll attract Frugsplits.'

They had reached the bottom of the staircase, and the gargoyles once more leapt aside to allow them exit. Snape waited as Luna exited, then followed and promptly fell over his own feet. Before any serious damage could occur, however, he felt a small hand on his arm, keeping him steady.

'Are you sure you are all right?'

'As I have told you before, Miss Lovegood, I am fine.'

'People do have a strange way of saying the opposite of what they're feeling, don't they?' She still hadn't let go of his arm. He could not bring himself to shake her hand off. 'Shall I take you to your quarters?'

'Miss Lovegood, that is hardly appropriate.'

'Oh, I don't know. I'd say that helping someone in need is very appropriate.' And, taking a bit of a firmer hold on his arm, she started walking. He found himself unable to protest as he stumbled along next to her. Lovegood had begun humming a tune that sounded strangely familiar. It resounded hollowly inside the empty castle, its tones much too cheerful for the bleakness that had come over the castle.

Lovegood stopped suddenly, causing Snape to falter.

'What is it?' he inquired.

She let go of his arm momentarily and bent down to pick something up from the floor. Snape tried to keep his balance without looking like a complete idiot. He failed miserably.

'I only saw something that is mine. Seemed like a shame to leave it there when I'm here anyway.' She resumed her grip on his arm and began walking again.

'How did something of yours end up here?'

'There are several boys that like to take my possessions,' Lovegood clarified calmly. 'They think it's funny.'

'Has no one punished them?'

'No, but it's okay really. Just as long as I get my things back in the end, I'm fine with it.'

Snape wondered where the girl had found the ability to deal with bullying so easily. He had to admit to himself that he hadn't paid too much attention to the other students' behaviour toward Lovegood, but of course he'd heard some things … He vaguely remembered Flitwick expressing concern over the girl, because she was bullied so frequently.

'It's down in the dungeons, isn't it?' Lovegood interrupted his musings.

'Yes,' said Snape, praying fervently that they would not run into anyone on the way.

They continued down the stairs that led to the dungeons at a slow pace.

'It's really quite clammy down here, isn't it?'

'I do not notice it.' They had arrived at the entrance to his quarters. He turned toward Lovegood. 'Very well, Miss Lovegood, you should return to your dormitory now. Remember to avoid the Carrows on your way back. Also remember to stay in your dormitory next time.'

Lovegood regarded him speculatively. 'Of course. Though I can't control where I'll wander off to when I'm sleepwalking.'

And with that, she turned around and skipped away.

* * *

The next morning Snape noted with a grim sense of satisfaction that the Carrows had not succeeded in taking down all of the Christmas decorations. And it seemed as though Lovegood had been right: the students truly looked cheered up by the presence of the decorations. Even the staff members appeared to be pleasantly surprised. There were a lot of rumours going around about who'd put the decoration up: apparently neither Lovegood nor the Carrows had decided to share this information.

Breakfast was a loud affair that morning: all of the students seemed glad to be going home for the next two weeks. Snape, for his part, was relieved too. Less students around meant less students to worry about. He shot a quick glance at the Carrows down the table – they looked even more displeased than usual, thanks to the decorations, no doubt.

Snape watched as the students finished their breakfast and left the hall one by one to collect their belongings. In another hour or so, the school would be blissfully empty and devoid of students.

His eyes went over the Ravenclaw table, searching for Lovegood. There she sat, next to that Corner. She appeared as radiant as ever as she selected a piece of toast, and there was not a single eyebag to show for her late-night adventure.

He was glad that he at least wouldn't have to worry about her safe-being for the next two weeks.

* * *

Dinner that evening contrasted breakfast in its quietness – Snape could not remember another time that there hadn't stayed a single student at the school for the holidays. However, he could not say that he minded. Most of the faculty was rather quieter than usual, too – but Snape suspected that being in the midst of three Death Eaters did that to you. Only the Carrows seemed even more rowdier than usual.

'Say, Snape,' began Amycus, pulling at his sleeve. 'You know that insane magazine that fool of a Lovegood kept printing? The Cribbler or something?'

'Quibbler, yes,' affirmed Snape, his heart speeding up a bit. 'What is the matter with it?'

'Well, it was getting a bit on the wrong side of things politically speaking, if you know what I mean,' wheezed Carrow. 'But we finally found a way to shut that old fool up. You know that kid he has at school here – Looney or something of the sort? The one from last night?'

'Yes. What about her?'

'Well, Malfoy figured that the only thing that nutcase of a Lovegood truly cares about is his daughter, and that to have her in our hands would mean control over the rubbish he has been printing.'

'And as such you have done what precisely?'

'A couple of our fellas took her right off the train today. As soon as Lovegood figured out she was gone, his attitude changed rather dramatically. Didn't it, Alecto?'

Carrow's sister nodded affirmatively. Snape felt his insides freeze up.

'Where did they take her?' He dared to ask.

'Malfoy Manor, I believe. They've got a dungeon there. Well, the girl is sure to be there until the end of all ages.'

Carrow let out the wheezy laugh that always made Snape's hair stand on end, and his sister soon joined in. Snape could only attempt to look amused as he tried to ignore the harsh pounding of his heart and the queasy feeling in his stomach. And here he had been thinking she would be safe.

* * *

Lovegood did not return at the end of the holidays. Nor did anyone seem to have any information regarding her, other than that she'd been brutally kidnapped from the train. As the days passed, it became clear that she wasn't the only one not to return to school, though he imagined the other missing students hadn't returned for rather different reasons. Weasley, however, was still present. Her ally Longbottom looked at the same time more sullen and more determined than ever. It seemed as though the boy would, against all expectations, become quite something.

As the days passed and blurred into weeks, Snape began to realise just how large a part of his life Lovegood had come to be. He frequently caught himself scanning the Ravenclaw table for her blonde hair, even though there was no possibility of her being there. The fact that she no longer ran into him on every corner gnawed at him. He missed the smiles that she bestowed even upon him, the vilest of all murderers. He even began to miss her imaginary creatures.

After two months had passed, the inaction became too much for Snape. It was time to do something.

He knew, of course, that there was no hope of freeing Lovegood. Even if he succeeded in taking her from Malfoy Manor, the Dark Lord would know immediately that he had been betrayed, and Snape would be a dead man. Nor could anyone else free her in his stead – he had no one to ask, and even if he had, who would be willing to risk an almost certain capture and torture at the hand of a band of bloodthirsty Death Eaters?

Still, he could not bear to look at the Carrows' pleased faces for even as much as another day, knowing that Lovegood's capture highly amused them. Even now Lovegood was probably being tortured. He did not know how long her frail body would last against the Cruciatus Curse, but he felt fairly sure that it wouldn't be too long. And, of course, there was always the danger of losing one's sanity – though he judged Lovegood to be less prone to that.

And if he could not help Lovegood escape, he could at least find out a little bit more about her situation. It was high time to pay Lucius a visit. He might even glean some of the Dark Lord's plans for the girl.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter three_

The gravel crackled beneath Snape's feet as he walked toward the manor. It looked even more splendid in daylight than it did at night. The iron-wrought gate, however, looked just as threatening as ever. He raised his left arm in an awkward greeting, and passed through the gate as though it were smoke, trying not to shiver as he passed through the metal. On his right there was more crackling of the gravel – one of Lucius' ridiculous peacocks scurried away from him.

The front door opened as he approached, but as always, there wasn't anyone around who might have opened it. Even despite that, Snape did not have to wait very long for his reception. The clicking of heels came nearer, and moments later Narcissa Malfoy appeared, still beautiful for all the wornness of her face. She entered the sumptuously decorated hallway, and, upon seeing her visitor, appeared slightly surprised but nevertheless polite. The carpet silenced her heels.

'Severus,' she spoke, with a dignity only the Malfoys could muster. 'I was not aware that Lucius was expecting you. Otherwise, you would have received a welcome as is fit for you.'

'I did not tell Lucius I was coming,' Snape assured her, handing his cloak to a house-elf. 'However, I thought he might be able to spare me a few minutes' time.'

'Certainly, I shall go and request his presence,' Narcissa replied forthcomingly. Then, turning toward the house-elf that had taken Snape's coat, she said, 'Maxi, show master Snape to the ante-chamber.'

The house-elf swept into a deep bow before escorting Snape out of the hallway. As he followed the tiny creature, the clicking of Narcissa's heels grew more and more distant. When they reached the ante-chamber, the house-elf squeaked, 'Please to be waiting here, master Snape,' and left the room as quickly as he could. Snape sank down into a comfortable armchair.

He had only been waiting a few minutes when the heavy footstep he associated with Lucius was to be heard, and Malfoy senior himself entered the ante-chamber. Snape got up.

'Severus,' Malfoy greeted him. He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. Snape nevertheless shook the proffered hand.

'Lucius.'

'What can I do for you, my friend?' Lucius asked, guiding Snape toward a fauteuil.

'To be honest, I came to make some inquiries regarding a prisoner that you are rumoured to keep here,' said Snape, sitting down in the fauteuil.

'Ah, you mean Lovegood, I presume?'

'Yes.'

Malfoy looked thoughtful. 'Yes, you're not the first to ask after her. It seems as though quite a lot of people have a score to settle with the Lovegoods. Bellatrix amused herself with the girl for several days, but as you know, Bella likes her victims frightened, and that girl stays completely calm even in the face of torture. Strange creature.'

Snape hummed an agreement, even though he was privately thinking the better of it. At least Bellatrix hadn't managed to break Lovegood like she had broken so many others.

'So I suppose you will want to see her?' Lucius asked.

Snape nodded. 'I, too, have a score to settle with the Lovegoods.'

'Well then,' said Lucius, smiling once again, 'I will be more than happy to show you to the dungeons.'

He exited the room, and Snape got up quickly and followed him. The manor was enormous, and as such they had to go through a labyrinth of carefully and expensively decorated rooms before they finally reached the stairs that led to the dungeons. Once they had gone down them, Malfoy paused in front of a wooden door.

'This is where the prisoners are kept.'

'Prisoners? Plural?'

'Yes, we have the wandmaker here too,' Lucius said nonchalantly. 'He made the Dark Lord very angry.'

Snape did not like to think what had happened to Ollivander after having angered the Dark Lord.

'Thank you.'

'Not a problem. When you want out again, just knock. Oh, and remember to light your wand, it's dark in there.'

Lucius pulled open the door, and Snape was indeed greeted by darkness. He stepped inside the room, and Lucius shut the door behind him. For a moment, he was surrounded by absolute blackness. Then he lifted his wand and lit it wordlessly.

A rather macabre sight greeted him. In front of him, chained to the wall, were Lovegood and Ollivander. Ollivander looked rather worse for the wear – his clothes were ripped and torn, and his face had that sunken, hollow look of someone who has had too little to eat for too long a time. The wandmaker's blue eyes were filled with fear as he looked at Snape. The poor man was probably expecting more torture.

Lovegood, thank Merlin, was looking rather a bit better. Though her clothes, too, had been ripped and torn, and she looked slightly paler than usual, she did not seem as exhausted or near to starvation as Ollivander did. A slight smile appeared on her face as she recognised him.

'Miss Lovegood.'

'Headmaster Snape,' she replied politely. Snape threw quick look at the door over his shoulder, then cast a non-verbal Silencing spell.

'How are you?'

Lovegood shrugged. 'I've been better,' she said honestly. 'But I haven't been here long enough for them to truly wear me down. Mr Ollivander is in a worse state, though.' She cast a concerned look at the wandmaker, who was still staring mutely up at Snape. It seemed to Snae as though Ollivander was merely a shadow of the man he had once been – his resistance and spirit broken.

'They are not feeding you enough.'

It wasn't a question, but Lovegood nodded anyway. 'You know,' she added, 'I am really happy to see you. I was hoping I might, sooner or later, but Mr Ollivander told me not to expect it.'

'And he was right to tell you so. I am merely visiting because I was … concerned.'

'Well, there's no need to be,' said Lovegood. 'Not for me, anyway, because it'll all be over soon.'

'Excuse me?'

'Haven't you heard?' she asked, interestedly. 'They're planning to execute me.'

Ollivander let out a strangled moan.

'What?' Snape spat. 'What do you mean, execute?'

'They said they wanted to make an example out of me,' explained Lovegood. 'Show what happens to people who go against Volde-'

'The Dark Lord,' hissed Snape.

'The Dark Lord,' Lovegood repeated.

Snape began pacing. 'Very well, I shall speak to Lucius when I get out of here and talk this foolishness out of his head.'

'It's not his foolishness, exactly,' said Lovegood, dreamily.

'Then whose is it?'

'Voldemo-'

'Don't say the name!'

'Sorry. It was You-Know-Who's idea.'

Snape balled his fists in frustration. Lucius could be talked out of silly actions. However, one did not talk the Dark Lord out of anything.

'Very well,' he repeated. 'In that case, you will need to escape.'

A harsh but at the same time weak laugh came from the corner of the room. Ollivander spoke for the first time. 'Do you really think that we haven't tried everything we could to escape?'

'Yes, but that was without my assistance.'

'You can't help us escape,' Lovegood's voice came unexpectedly. 'If you do, they'll know at once that you've betrayed them.'

'I am aware of that, Miss Lovegood. However –'

Lovegood shook her head. 'Really, Professor, it's not worth it. I don't mind dying if that means keeping you safe.'

'No!' rasped Ollivander. 'You can't die!'

'Really, Mr Ollivander, it's fine,' Lovegood assured him, smiling kindly. 'We all have to die at some point, and at least I'll get to see mother again.'

'I would prefer if the time left until that reunion could be prolonged,' snapped Snape.

'Honestly, Professor, I would gladly die tomorrow to keep you safe.' Snape looked into the girl's eyes, but he could not detect a lie in them. She was being completely sincere.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and Lucius' voice asked, 'Are you quite done in there, Severus?'

'Yes,' answered Snape, taking several steps backwards. 'You can let me out.'

Lovegood was still smiling as he backed out of the room.

* * *

'It is not right, Dumbledore.'

'I know that, Severus.'

Snape sat facing the Headmaster's portrait. Dumbledore was looking down at him with a mixture of sternness and empathy.

'I swore not to let another innocent get killed if I could help it,' snapped Snape. 'And here I am, breaking that promise once again.'

'But even more innocents will get killed if you run off and save that girl,' Dumbledore said reproachingly.

'Who is to say that?' protested Snape. 'I could leave Minerva in charge here – she's perfectly capable of keeping the students safe.'

'She is not capable, Severus, and you know that.'

'What makes her a so much worse choice than me? You know just as well as I do that she has the brains, the heart and the gut to run this school. The students would be safe.'

'They would not be. And what is more, you would lose your position as a spy.'

'Because being a spy is ever so necessary when there is no one to report to!' Snape spat at the portrait. 'I ceased being useful as a spy the moment I fired that curse at you!'

'The students need you, Severus!'

'They do not! They are perfectly capable of living without a murderer and a betrayer breathing down their necks!'

'You are the damage control, Severus! Without you, the situation might have got out of hand a long time ago!' Two red blotches had appeared on Dumbledore's cheeks – it appeared his patience was beginning to wear thin.

'Well, a fine damage control I am! I am hardly even capable of protecting the students, and the little I can do has to happen under extreme caution and discretion!'

'Luna Lovegood is not important enough to risk losing the school to Death Eaters!' barked Dumbledore. 'What is one person in the face of this upcoming war?'

'You will be hard-pressed to find someone more forgiving and kind than Lovegood!' snarled Snape. 'If any one of us is innocent, it is her! She does not deserve to die at the hands of a madman.'

'Well, she will have to, Severus! For the greater good!'

'I am sick and tired of the greater good, Dumbledore!' Snape had stood up and had begun pacing, as had become his habit. 'Most of my life has been spent in your service – for you I have killed, lied and betrayed! For you I stood by and watched the Dark Lord corrupt our world! And I did all that under the impression that we were saving as many as we could – but it seems that all this time you have been using me as a means to your own ends! First you tell me to stand by and watch Potter die, after all those years we were supposedly 'protecting' him, and now you're ordering me to subject Lovegood to the same fate!'

'Sacrifices are necessary in a war!' boomed Dumbledore. 'Some have to die so that others may live!'

'Ah yes, we are all just pawns in your chess game, aren't we? Everyone can be replaced, and it does not matter how many are destroyed just so long as you win in the end. Well, I will tell you something,' Snape stepped closer toward the portrait. 'I have not forgotten what is carved above Nurmengard. I know what you have done, and I know what 'the greater good' can do!'

'Severus …'

'No! I am drawing the line. You may think it is perfectly acceptable to let a seventeen-year old girl die for 'the greater good' – I do not. And if you disagree, good for you.'

'Severus, listen to me! You are being ridiculous!'

'Oh, _I_ am being ridiculous? What about you, you bloody old fool?' he snapped. 'I have torn my soul into enough pieces over you – I am done following your orders.'

Dumbledore's portrait began to protest, but Snape ignored it as he crossed the room and opened the secret vault in the wall. He took the Sword of Gryffindor from its case and headed toward the exit of the office, stopping only to pick up Dumbledore's Pensieve on the way.

'What do you think you are doing?' Dumbledore's portrait shouted after him. 'Put those back immediately!'

Snape slammed the door and stepped onto the descending staircase, willing his breathing to calm. He first went down to his quarters and hid the sword and Pensieve there, then he once again went upstairs. What he was about to do would likely yield no results at all – but it could not be avoided, at least not if he wanted to leave the school without a feeling of guilt gnawing at him.

The halls were deserted, as they ought to be at this time of night, and as such Snape reached his destination fairly quickly. After breathing in slowly, he knocked on the door. There was some stumbling on the other side, and then the wooden door swung open. Minerva McGonagall appeared in the door opening, in tartan nightdress and all. Upon seeing him, her inquisitive expression changed into one of hostility.

'Snape,' she spat, with as much venom as she could muster, 'what do you want?'

'Minerva,' he said, stepping forward. 'May I come in?'

McGonagall looked for a moment as though she would refuse him and shut the door in his face, but apparently she remembered in time that he was her superior and that, in all actuality, she could not refuse him anything.

'Get in,' she said harshly, stepping aside. He entered her quarters. Behind him, he heard the door close. Moments later, Minerva was standing in front of him. She did not motion for him to sit down, nor did she sit down herself. 'What do you want?'

'Minerva,' he began, slowly, 'I know that this will be difficult for you to believe, but I have always wanted the best for the school and the students.'

McGonagall snorted. 'Of course.'

'I am being serious. I know that you do not trust me, and I cannot ask you to do so in the light of recent events, but I _am _asking you to believe that I have always tried my utmost to keep the students safe.'

There was a moment of silence. McGonagall was the first to break it. 'Is that all you wanted to tell me? Because in that case, you might have saved yourself the trouble of showing up at all.'

She was already advancing toward the door. However, Snape remained rooted to his spot. 'That is not all, Minerva.'

She walked back slowly, looking him squarely in the eye. Snape was once again reminded of the incredible power the woman possessed. Should they ever end up opposite one another in a duel, McGonagall would not hold back.

'Well, out with it then, Snape.'

'I know that you care for the students.'

McGonagall raised an eyebrow, but refrained from commenting.

'And I know that you would do anything to keep them safe,' Snape continued. 'As such, I am asking you to look after the students and keep them out of harm's way.'

'Truly, Snape, I had no idea you were so concerned about the well-being of the students. However, you do not nearly seem concerned enough to realise that for things to really change, you will have to remove those two horrid beings.'

There was no doubt as to whom she was talking about.

'You know perfectly well that I cannot do that, Minerva. But this discussion is not what I came here for. Will you do what you can to keep the students safe?'

'Of course I will!' she spat indignantly. ´But if you think I am doing it because of you, you are sorely mistaken! Someone has to keep an eye out for these students, and if the people tasked with it won't do it, then I will have to!'

'Good!' he said. 'Very good.'

McGonagall looked at him strangely, and he had to concede that he was probably making a very deranged appearance. As a matter of fact, he was feeling rather deranged at the moment. The adrenaline left over from his confrontation with Dumbledore was still rushing through his body, as was a decided sense of helplessness. However, there was also determination. He would not let Lovegood become another Lily. He would not stand by and watch her die as he had done with so many others. This time, he was going to change things.

He turned and swept past McGonagall, out of the room.

* * *

There was no hope of breaking into Malfoy Manor at night. The place was guarded more securely than one could ever hope to imagine, and to arrive at nighttime without a plausible reason was foolish at the very best, and most likely dangerous. No, he could not hope to free Lovegood (and Ollivander, for he could hardly leave the old man behind) at night. Rather, Snape would try his utmost to hide in plain sight. The plan was simple: he would go to the Manor, tell Narcissa that he had some business with Lucius, and then, when Lucius had shown up, he would Stun the man and Disillusion him. Then he would go down to the dungeons and free the prisoners, and hopefully he would be gone by the time Lucius' disappearance was discovered.

The plan was by no means fool-proof. As a matter of fact, there were so many potential problems it would be nothing short of a miracle if he managed to get Lovegood and Ollivander out of there safely. However, it was the only plan he had. There were no other people he could ask for help, and even if there had been, he was not willing to risk their lives over this. No, only he would put his life on the line this time.

He could not hope to help the prisoners escape unnoticed. Even if he, by some bizarre twist of fate, managed to make it out of the Manor unseen, it would only be a matter of time before the Dark Lord discovered who had betrayed him. He had ways of telling. And besides, he could hardly leave Lovegood and Ollivander out in the open – they would be caught within minutes were they to be left to themselves.

He held his arm up in the familiar greeting, and passed through the gate as though it were smoke. The gravel once again crackled beneath his feet. The peacock, however, was nowhere to be seen. As Snape neared the Manor, the door swung open of its own accord. However, this time no Narcissa appeared to greet him.

Feeling slightly apprehensive, Snape began to walk through the Manor, in search of the dungeons. Before he could reach them, however, Lucius appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He just had the time to open his mouth, probably in greeting, and then Snape Stunned him silently. Lucius dropped to the floor, his expression one of utter confusion. Snape pushed him out of the way into an alcove and Disillusioned him. Then he went on.

He reached the dungeons before too long, and found the place thankfully deserted. Unwilling to spend his valuable time on opening a lock, he blasted open the door to Lovegood and Ollivander's cell.

They looked up in surprise as the door banged open.

'Quickly,' hissed Snape. 'Let me undo your chains.'

'It's all right,' said Lovegood, getting up. The chains fell from around her. 'We used a nail to break them open ages ago.'

Ollivander was making a valiant effort at getting up, but was failing rather badly. Lovegood darted over to his side and helped him up, which earned her a grateful look from Ollivander.

'Quiet, now,' warned Snape, as he turned and walked out of the cell. Behind him, Lovegood and Ollivander followed.

'I do remember telling you quite clearly not to come and save me,' remarked Lovegood. 'Or did the Flipspringers come to steal your memory?'

'No, Miss Lovegood, I remember that particular conversation rather well. However, I have decided that your life matters more to me than my role as a spy.'

Lovegood stopped in her tracks. 'You shouldn't sacrifice yourself for me.'

'Miss Lovegood …'

'There is still time. Mr Ollivander and I could head back to our cell and pretend nothing has happened.'

'Miss Lovegood, I came here with the intent of saving your life, and that is precisely what I will –'

The next instant, a blonde head appeared around the corner, and the trio came face to face with none other than Draco Malfoy. He looked deathly pale and rather ill.

'What is going on here?' he demanded weakly.

Snape shot the boy an apologetic look and raised his wand. 'Do forgive me, Draco.'

'Wait!' said the boy, raising his hands. 'I don't want to stop you.'

Snape lowered his wand by an inch. 'Excuse me?'

'You are saving her, are you not?' asked Draco, with a nod toward Lovegood. Snape nodded mutely. 'Well, then I'm not stopping you. Please leave at once, before someone returns.'

'Draco, what –'

'Look, just go, all right?' Draco said, taking a few steps in their direction. 'Just take them and keep them safe. I want them to be safe.'

Snape was about to reply, but Lovegood got there first. 'Draco,' she said, and her voice had once again assumed some of its usual dreaminess. Draco turned his head toward her, his expression one of pure sorrow. 'As I was just explaining to Professor Snape, I do not want him to sacrifice himself for me.'

Draco's face had assumed a pleading look. 'But you _must _leave!' he exclaimed. 'Don't you understand? This is your one chance to escape! If you don't leave you will die! And I don't want you to die.'

Lovegood looked at Draco for a few seconds, clearly taking in the boy's desperate expression and weighing his words in her mind. Then she said 'Very well,' and began walking, Ollivander still at her side. Snape turned toward Draco.

'You know what I must do.'

Draco nodded, looking very much like a wounded puppy.

'However,' continued Snape, 'I will not forget this, and should I be around to see the end of this war, you can count on my support.' He began to raise his wand, but Draco interrupted him.

'Wait,' he said, stepping aside. 'There's a secret way out. I'll show you.' After carefully studying the wall for a few seconds, Draco pressed one of the stones. The rest of the wall leapt aside and a small entrance appeared. 'It will take you off the grounds.'

'Thank you,' said Snape. As Lovegood and Ollivander disappeared through the opening, Snape raised his wand at Draco for the final time. Looking into the frightened blue eyes, he said, 'Obliviate.'

The next moment Snape was inside the secret passage and had closed the door behind him. On the other side of the wall, Draco blinked dazedly.

Snape soon caught up with Lovegood and Ollivander, who were, after all, not advancing very quickly. Snape took Ollivander's free arm, and though the old man flinched, he did not tell Snape off. Together Lovegood and he managed to take the wandmaker through the passageway. When they were finally standing outside again, Snape let out an inaudible sigh of relief.

Tightening his hold on Ollivander's arm, he said, 'Miss Lovegood, please take my arm.'

Smiling, Lovegood darted over to his side. As she took a hold of his arm, she said 'you can call me Luna, you know.'

Snape chose not to reply to that remark and insread concentrated on the Disapparation. Disapparating with one side-along was already difficult enough, with two people in a weakened state it was nigh on impossible. However, he concentrated hard on their destination, and seconds later the familiar sense of nausea and darkness swept over him, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw that they had arrived at their destination. He let go of Ollivander. Lovegood had already released his arm, and was now taking in their surroundings interestedly.

Snape did not allow himself any time to dawdle. He began to walk around Ollivander and Lovegood in a large circle, silently casting protective spells along the way. It would not do for them to have escaped Malfoy Manor, only to be caught out here in the woods. When he finished casting his spells, he looked around to find that Ollivander and Lovegood had sat down on a large rock. He walked toward them.

'Why was Draco so eager for you to leave?' Snape questioned Lovegood. She looked up dreamily.

'I would think that logical. He was worried about us.'

'But why would he be worried about you?'

Lovegood frowned. 'He doesn't have the stomach for it. Being a Death Eater, that is. He used to be the only one who would remember to bring us meals. I think he took our well-being very personally.'

Snape nodded, silently storing the information away for future use. It seemed as though Draco's resolve had finally weakened enough for him to get a perspective on things once again.

'So,' said Lovegood, looking up at him. 'Where are we going next?'

Snape let out a harsh laugh, severely startling Ollivander, who had begun to doze off. 'I think you'll be hard-pressed to find any safe place in Britain, Miss Lovegood. Or in the world, for that matter.'

'I told you to call me Luna,' she said calmly.

'Luna,' he repeated. Her name felt strange on his tongue.

'We could go to my house,' she suggested. 'I've got a couple of things that might come in handy. Like a tent. I don't suppose you thought of that?'

Snape could feel the heat in his cheeks rising. How was it possible that this mere slip of a girl had such utter control over his emotions? She should be the one feeling stupid, not he. Not even if he _had _been stupid.

'Your house is the first place they will look,' he said, trying to keep his voice level. He had the impression he was failing rather badly. 'Unless you long to go back to that prison, it is not advisable to go there.'

'But we could circumvent the guards.'

'I would prefer not to.'

'It really would mean the world to me.'

'I said no, Miss Lovegood.'

'Luna.'

'Luna. Merlin's balls, what are you hoping to find there, girl?' he snapped, crossing his arms. 'If you wish to see your father, I am afraid I will have to disappoint you: last I heard, they had taken him to Azkaban.'

Lovegood paled visibly. 'Azkaban?'

It was hard to look at the girl and not feel some sympathy. 'Yes,' he said, a little more kindly.

Lovegood – no, _Luna_ stared off into the distance for what seemed to be a very long time. Then she said, 'Oh well, he'll be all right. Daddy is stronger than that place.'

'Your faith in him is extraordinary. However, my question still stands. What are you hoping to find in your house?'

Luna met his eyes again. 'I want to take some of my personal possessions,' she said, not breaking the eye contact. 'And we could fetch the tent while we're there – or we could just sleep on the ground. I've heard the stars are very beautiful this time of year. If we're lucky, we might even spot a Blibbering Humdinger!'

'We shall fetch your tent,' Snape decided.

Ollivander had slumped visibly, and Luna had to extend a hand to keep him from toppling over. 'We had better leave him here while we go to my house,' she remarked. 'I don't think he is quite up to the adventure.'

'No,' Snape agreed. He then conjured a stretcher and levitated the old man onto it.

'Oh, that's a good idea!' said Lovegood. 'Personally, I do always enjoy sitting on rocks, but it's not the same for everyone, or so I've heard.'

'We shall leave at nightfall,' he told her, sitting down on the spot Ollivander had previously occupied. 'You would do well to compile a list of the things you want to take beforehand – I do not want to waste any time dawdling. There is a fair chance that the protection the Dark Lord has left will be too extensive for us to get past. In that case, we will turn back immediately and not another word will be said on the matter. Do you understand?'

The girl nodded. Snape sighed and rubbed his eyes.

'You really should try not to do that,' Luna's voice came. 'It's bad for you.'

* * *

As he had expected, the protection of Luna's house was extensive. However, it was not so extensive that they would be unable to get around it. Snape had cast Silencing and Disillusionment charms on both him and the girl, and they had the cover of night. Unfortunately, so did the other side.

There was one particularly tense moment when a twig snapped beneath Luna's feet, and it was audible even despite the silencing charms. A nearby Death Eater looked up and stared almost straight at them. For perhaps two minutes the girl and he stood as quietly as humanly possible, then the Death Eater turned his gaze elsewhere and they were able to continue on their way.

The Lovegood house was easily one of the strangest buildings Snape had ever seen, and that was saying rather a lot. It was entirely cylindrical and resembled a chess piece. Snape had heard rumours about Xenophilius Lovegood being crazy, but this really brought it home. Luna, however, seemed pleased at the sight of her house – in the pale moonlight Snape could just make out a smile on her face.

They entered the house through the back door, so as not to draw too much attention to themselves. They groped around in the darkness for a few moments, unable to light their wands for fear of getting caught. Then Luna drew the curtains and he uttered a _Lumos_.

They appeared to be standing in a completely cylindrical kitchen. Snape just had time to register the various curious objects present, and then Luna rushed on and went up the stairs. Snape followed closely behind. When he reached the next floor, Luna had already drawn the curtains.

'You get the tent while I collect my things,' she said, turning toward him. 'It's in that cabinet over there.' And, after pointing the cabinet out to him, she promptly disappeared up another set of stairs.

'Do not dawdle!' he warned her. He then approached the cabinet, looking at it apprehensively. If the multitude of weird objects strewn about the room was any indication, the chance he'd encounter something strange and possibly dangerous inside that cabinet was substantial. Taking a deep breath, he opened the cabinet.

Music began playing, and Snape, out of instinct, immediately fired a Reducto at the source of the sound. The noise stopped immediately. As Snape pieced the fragments back together, he discovered it had only been a music box – granted, it was one of rather strange making. As far as Snape could make out, it had had all sorts of mysterious animals painted onto it.

Not wanting to waste any more time, he illuminated the inside of the cabinet with his wand. There was something there that looked decidedly like a tent. Snape took it out, then shrunk it and slipped it into a pocket.

Luna still had not returned. He wandered to the base of the stairs, looked up, and was greeted by something rather curious. Painted on the ceiling, looking very real even despite the bad lighting, were the faces of Potter, Granger, Longbottom and the two youngest Weasleys. The paintings were not moving – this had clearly been done without the use of magic. As a matter of fact, the girl had probably painted the whole thing herself. Despite the somewhat soggy aspect of the painting, Snape was rather impressed by Lovegood's painting skills.

His eye then fell on a horn on the wall. Frowning, he stepped closer in order to examine it better. How could something like this possibly have ended up in here? Of course, it was possible that Lovegood had no clue what the thing truly was, but even so, having it here was highly dangerous.

'Miss – Luna?' he called, pointing his wand toward the stairs and shedding some light on them. Luna's blonde head appeared in the staircase.

'What is it?'

'What is an erumpent horn doing in your house? Do you not know that those things are highly explosive?'

'Oh, that's not an erumpent horn,' said Luna vaguely. 'It's the horn of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.'

Snape had seen enough erumpent horns in his Potions career to know what one looked like. 'I assure you that it is not.'

Luna merely looked at him, and then, without deigning to reply, disappeared out of sight again. Snape stepped away from the erumpent horn, determined not to disturb it. It would be rather stupid to have made it all the way into the house only to be blown to pieces by a foul piece of 'decoration'.

As he stepped back, however, he tripped up on something lying on the floor, and fell backward. Desperately flinging his arms about, hoping to catch himself, he accidentally knocked a device that looked a rather lot like a lamp off a cabinet. The moment the device hit the ground, innumerable light beams shot out of it. Within seconds, the whole house was illuminated. Luna's head reappeared.

'What did you turn on the light for?' she asked, looking vaguely perturbed. 'Aren't you worried the Death Eaters might spot us? Or is it a trap you set up?'

'It's not a trap, you silly girl, I tripped!'

'Well, that is rather dumb.'

'Rather ... Miss Lovegood, get down here now! We are leaving at once,' he snapped. 'There is no hope of them not having spotted this!'

And indeed, seconds later there were shouts from outside, and there was rummaging at the door. Snape judged they only had moments to make their escape. Luna was already halfway down the stairs, but she was not going nearly quickly enough. Before she had reached the floor, the door was flung open and several Death Eaters rushed in. Snape whipped out his wand within seconds, and to his slight surprise he saw Luna do the same. She had obviously found a spare wand somewhere.

The Death Eaters began firing spells, and it was all he could do not to get hit. Though he felt fairly confident that the Death Eaters, such as they were now, would not overpower them, they were in serious trouble the moment reinforcements arrived - an event that would occur not long from now, judging by his own experience. His left forearm ached. When he chanced a glance at it, he found the Dark Mark standing out darkly against his skin. The Dark Lord was not pleased.

His momentary distraction nearly cost him - it was only because of Luna's quick reaction that a Death Eater's spell could be deflected.

'Miss Lovegood,' he shouted, deflecting another spell. 'Get over here immediately!'

'It's Luna,' she corrected him, stepping aside so as to avoid a curse. The radish earrings dangled madly.

Seconds later she was at his side, and Snape took a firm hold on her arm, before beginning to walk backwards.

'You are aware that there's just a window behind us, right?' Luna asked, not appearing the least bit concerned.

'Yes, you silly girl, that's what we're headed toward.'

'I just thought I should mention it. We are up on the second floor, you know, and seeing as we're not Withering Magbies, I don't think we'll come out of that fall well.'

'Luna, be quiet.'

The girl thankfully obeyed. Snape felt something bump against the back of his knees: they had reached the window. He blasted aside a particularly vicious Death Eater, threw another off his feet, and then, under the momentary cover, half-fell half-jumped out of the window, his hand still firmly gripping the girl's arm. As they were falling backwards, Snape dimly registered that one of the Death Eaters' spells had gone straight toward the erumpent horn, and was moments away from hitting it. He cleared his mind of the thought and instead concentrated on that most valuable skill - flying.

Flying as the Dark Lord flew was quite an incredible experience. One's body became as though it was smoke, and drifted on the air. However, his weight combined with that of the girl's, who had not become smoke-like, was serving to pull them down rather more quickly than he would have liked. He had to use all his willpower to keep them from crashing onto the ground. Just as he found control over their falling, there was a loud explosion behind them, and the sudden change in air pressure propelled them forward.

Snape could not avoid it anymore - the change had been too sudden and too quick. They slammed right into a tree - however, the impact did not hurt as much as it should have. He realized that Luna still held a wand in her hand - she must have remembered to cast a Cushioning Charm.

They fell down quickly, and within moments they had impacted hard with the ground. Snape did his best not to groan - his back had been twisted in quite a painful manner. Next to him, the girl was already sitting up.

He scrambled up, and moments later they were inside the cover of the tree line. Snape doubted that any of the Death Eaters they had left behind inside the house were still alive, but it could not be long now until the reinforcements arrived, and he was planning on being far away from here by that time. Not pausing in his running, he once again grabbed the girl's arm, which was probably black and blue by now, and Disapparated in mid-run.

They reappeared near the clearing where they had left Ollivander. Luna looked around at the setting, seemingly unperturbed by their adventure. Snape was not feeling very pleased at all – he hoped Lovegood had found what she had been looking for, or he wasn't sure if his temper would hold. He undid the spells he'd cast before and Ollivander shimmered into view.

'Did you find what you were looking for?' Snape questioned roughly.

Luna merely nodded happily, before asking 'Did you find the tent?'

He, too, nodded mutely. Luna did not wait around to see it, however, for she was already making her way toward Ollivander, who lay against a tree and was looking rather pale. Once she was at his side, she shook him carefully, so that he awoke.

'Mr Ollivander? How are you feeling?' Her voice sounded surprisingly gentle, and Snape was surprised by the tenderness in it. 'We brought a tent, so we should be able to move you inside in a bit.'

Snape, reminded of the tent once again, pulled the shrunken thing out of his pocket. Within seconds it had been returned to its original size. However, he realized with embarrassment that he did not know any spells to actually set the tent up.

'Luna?' The name still felt awkward on his tongue. He wondered if that would ever change. The girl looked up. 'Can you set up the tent?'

She was on her feet within seconds, and with one quick wave of her wand, the tent was standing. Snape knew that he had better ask her for the spell she'd used soon - it would be rather embarrassing to require help setting up the tent every time.

Snape then helped Luna take the wandmaker inside. The tent turned out to be quite spacious - there even were beds enough for all of them. Snape helped Ollivander down onto the nearest bed, and Luna once again moved over to his side, providing what assistance she could. It occurred to Snape that Ollivander must have been stuck in the Malfoy dungeon for months, much longer still than Luna, and it was only to be expected that someone as old and frail as Ollivander would come out rather worse for the wear. Snape suspected that the old man had been starved and tortured for months. A cold weight seemed to settle in his stomach. He had been willing to give up his life to save Luna - but why should he not have given it up to save this man? Did Ollivander not deserve to live as much as any of them?

Once again, Snape found himself nursing a blinding anger toward Albus Dumbledore.

Luna had risen from her position on the side of Ollivander's bed, and was now making her way toward him.

'He's not doing well,' she said, unnecessarily. 'I'm going to make him soup. I took some supplies from my house, so I should be perfectly able to brew freshwater plimpies soup.'

And with that, she headed toward the kitchen. Snape stared mutely ahead, praying that the Lovegood recipe for freshwater plimpies soup was not as disastrous as he had heard. Ollivander broke the silence by coughing loudly, and Snape was reminded that he still had some pain-relieving potions on him. He fished one out of his pockets, and headed over to Ollivander's bed. Once there, he uncorked the bottle.

'Here,' he said gruffly, kneeling down beside the bed. 'This will help for the pain.'

Ollivander looked closely at him for a few seconds, as though trying to determine whether Snape was healing him or poisoning him. Then he took the vial and tipped its contents backwards. When he finished drinking, he handed the vial back to Snape, who once again corked it and stored it away for future use.

There was the sound of footsteps nearing - Luna had clearly finished making her soup, and if he was honest, it did not even smell as bad as he had expected. The tales of the Lovegoods' cooking skills were frightening if anything, but as always, it might simply be that they were based on unjust assumptions. Or that they only applied to Lovegood senior.

She stopped to give one of the soup bowls to him, and then continued on to Ollivander's bedside. The soup bowl was blessedly warm, and Snape folded his fingers around it before sitting down and slowly starting on his soup. Luna had propped up the pillows behind Ollivander's head, and had handed him the soup bowl. However, the man's hands were shaking so badly that some of the soup had already sloshed over the side. Noticing this, Luna Vanished the mess with her new wand, and then took the bowl from Ollivander, taking it upon herself to feed him. By the time the bowl was empty, Ollivander looked more exhausted than ever.

As Luna got up and collected their soup bowls, Ollivander closed his eyes. Snape looked at Luna as she went into the kitchen, and, noticing that he was watching her, she made a gesture for him to follow her outside. So he did, not really knowing what she was up to, and not at all sure whether he wanted to know.

The night was chilly, but not unpleasantly so. The cold helped him feel a little more awake. It was no wonder he was feeling tired – it was already getting light in the distance. Luna was gazing up at the stars, and the dreamy expression had once again returned to her face. Just when he thought she wouldn't speak anymore, she opened her mouth.

'He is not doing well.'

There was no need to ask who she meant. Snape's eyes drifted off toward the tent, in which Ollivander was now sleeping soundly.

'I know.'

'It was to be expected,' said Luna, calmly. 'He had been in that dungeon for months. Old people shouldn't be kept in the dark and cold, nor should they be starved.'

Snape did not know what to reply to all this, so he kept silent. Fortunately, the girl did not seem to expect an answer. After she had gazed at the stars for a few more moments, she turned around to face him. The moonlight falling on her hair seemed to give her some sort of glowing aura.

'How did it happen?' she asked.

He crossed his arms. 'How did what happen?'

'How did you become a spy?'

He sighed almost inaudibly. The full tale of his switching of alliances had been known only to Dumbledore, and Snape had been glad to keep it that way. However, things had changed, now. He was no longer the Dark Lord's right hand man, he was no longer a spy, and he was no longer Hogwarts' Headmaster. All he was now was a runaway, and, if he was to spend his next few months with the girl, she might as well know how it had happened. Well, most of it, anyway.

'I once overheard a prophecy,' he began, taking care to speak in general terms. 'And as a result of it, I ended up betraying someone who had once been close to me to the Dark Lord. I did not know it at the time, but when I found out, I was horrified. In a desperate attempt to save that person's life, I turned to Albus Dumbledore.'

'I don't expect he was very forgiving.'

Snape's eyes snapped to hers. 'How did you know?'

She shrugged, her hair still glowing in the moonlight. 'I know what he was like,' she said simply. 'He could be rather nice, but he was also very strict and unforgiving. I don't think many people noticed that, though,' she added, staring off in the distance. 'What happened afterward?'

'He promised me to keep them safe,' said Snape, looking away from the girl. 'He did not do so.'

'And yet you stayed?'

'Staying was better than going back to the Dark Lord. Furthermore, by staying in Dumbledore's good books, I was safe.'

'Makes sense, I suppose,' said Luna, seemingly not shocked by his selfishness. Then she yawned, and said 'I think I'll be off to bed.'

He nodded mutely, and she went inside the tent. He stayed outside for a while longer himself, revelling in the peace and quiet of the forest. When he fianllywent back inside, the girl was already asleep. The wandmaker, too, was sleeping. Snape's eyes passed over the old man's face, and he felt something twist in his stomach. He remembered very well the last time he had seen Ollivander before Malfoy Manor.

He had been nineteen years old, and he had broken his wand. His mother's wand, the one that had lasted him all through Hogwarts. There was no repairing the thing, it had been an old wand anyway, and it hadn't acted as it ought to have in a while. As such, he had found himself inside Ollivander's shop one afternoon to purchase a new wand. The Dark Lord had been rising quickly to power right about then, and there had been a lot of fear, and Diagon Alley had been as deserted as he had ever seen it.

As the bell above the shop's door had sounded, the withered wandmaker had appeared. A frown had appeared on his face when he recognized Snape, however, he had not sent him away. Rather, the old man had given him wand after wand to try. None of them had seemed to respond to Snape, however, and he had been beginning to feel a bit desperate, when finally, there had been one that would channel his magic. It had been a black wand, thin but stiff, the very wand that was at this moment inside his pocket. When he had told Ollivander that he would take the wand, the man had shaken his head.

'I cannot sell this to you,' he had said, all the while piercing Snape with that awful stare of his.

'Why not?' he had demanded.

'Because you will only ever do evil with it.'

Ollivander had tried to take the wand from him, then, but Snape had not let go of it.

'How much does it cost?'

'Twelve galleons,' the old wandmaker had said, 'but I cannot sell it to you.'

'Yes, you can,' Snape had spat, 'and you will.'

And with that, he had thrown the twelve galleons onto the counter, and had walked right out of the shop, the wand still clenched in his hand.

He took it from his pocket, now, and rolled the wooden stick between his fingers. The wand had served him well for these past few years – it was true that Ollivander delivered only quality work. And while the wand had saved him many a time, it was also true that he had used it to vile purposes. He had tortured with this wand. He had killed with this wand. But certainly that was not all? The wand had been used to do good too.

Snape rolled the wood in his hand once more, wondering what his current balance was. He was guessing the scales were tipping to the wrong side.

When he looked up, he found a pair of icy blue eyes staring back at him. Ollivander had awoken, and he had been observing Snape. When his eyes met Snape's, he did not break the contact for a few more seconds, before finally turning around and going back to sleep.

Snape slipped the wand into his pocket, out of sight.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter four_

He had taken to bringing the girl with him as he went into the woods to find food. Being a Potions Master, he had no great trouble separating edible mushrooms and berries from poisonous ones. Luna, surprisingly, seemed to have a real knack for it too. As it turned out, she was a rather good cook as well, as long as she did not try to edit existing recipes to fit her bizarre personal preferences.

Ollivander, meanwhile, did not leave his bed often. He had been so severely weakened by his imprisonment at Malfoy Manor, that even to stand up was already a difficult feat for him. Under Luna's kind care, he was growing a bit stronger, but only the most immediate of his health problems were taken care of. Snape felt deep within it was a lost cause. However, neither he nor Luna were willing to give up on Ollivander – he deserved to live as much as they did.

And so Ollivander rested while the girl and he went out to find food. Luna was surprisingly good company, as long as one ignored the oddness of several of her remarks. Snape was actually finding that he quite enjoyed discussing imaginary creatures with her, and he liked listening to her talking about them with such utter conviction that they existed.

He had knelt down in a clearing where several mushrooms grew, while Luna had drifted off to take a closer look at the berries on a nearby bush. Whenever he found something that he deemed more or less edible, he threw it into the basket they'd brought with them. Truth be told, all three of them were getting fed up with the diet of nothing but berries and mushrooms, and the occasional rabbit. However, going into a village to buy food – even a Muggle village – was much too dangerous. And he did value his life and sanity enough to want to stay out of the Dark Lord's hands.

The wizarding world was on the brink of the abyss, and he was out in the woods gathering mushrooms. The mere thought pained him. To be out here, live in this pretence of peace, while _he _was growing ever stronger – wasn't that cowardly? Wasn't it hypocritical? And all the while, Potter and his sidekicks were somewhere out there, risking their lives for the cause, and he hadn't even succeeded in the one task that he'd been left – to give them the sword and tell Potter that he needed to die.

Giving Potter the sword would be easy. True, it needed to be obtained through a courageous act and all that, but seeing as Potter liked risking his life, that would not be too much of a problem. However, Snape was not looking forward to telling the boy that he needed to die. Hell, Potter would probably blast him to pieces before he'd even opened his mouth – now _there_ was a problem.

He hadn't noticed that Luna had returned to his spot in the clearing, but all of a sudden he felt someone kneel next to him.

'What's troubling you?'

He did not answer immediately. The girl could not solve his biggest problem – the fact that he was useless while there were people dying out there. And either way, that had been his own choice. However … she might be able to help him deliver the sword to the Brilliant Threesome. If there was any way of finding out where they were …

'I need to talk to Potter.'

There was some movement next to him: Luna had sat down in a more comfortable position. 'Why?'

'Firstly, there is an object in my possession that needs to be passed on to him. Secondly, there is something he needs to know if he wants to have any hope of defeating the Dark Lord.'

Luna tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing a somewhat tarnished radish earring. 'Well, there _is _a way …'

His gaze snapped toward her. 'Do you know where he is?'

'No,' admitted the girl honestly. 'But I have this.'

She fished a golden Galleon out of her pocket, smiling. Snape stared at it in a somewhat estranged fashion.

'And what is that supposed to do?'

'Why, relay messages, of course,' she said, as though communicating through coins was the most regular thing in the world. 'I'm not sure whether Harry still has his on him, but Hermione will have hers, for sure. It was her idea, after all.´

Something clicked inside Snape's head. 'This is how the DA communicated?'

Luna nodded. 'See those numbers? They usually refer to the goblin that made the coin. In the DA's case, they are a date. When Harry changed the numbers on his coin, they automatically changed on the others' coins, too.'

'But sending a date will hardly be useful.'

'It should be possible to send words, rather than numbers,' mused the girl. 'We did not truly use them to _speak _to one another, if you will, because that would have been much too conspicuous.'

'How do you know Granger's coin will respond to yours? I thought they were all synched to Potter's?'

'True, but the fact remains that they are linked together. I could use a different spell to make sure Hermione gets my message.'

Snape looked at her, mildly surprised. 'You seem to know a lot of obscure spells.'

'Well, I do invent many of them myself, just like my mother used to do. I'm only hoping that mine won't backfire.'

Snape observed the girl – the pale face, the blue eyes, the butterbeer cork necklace. He had known that her mother had died, of course – it was more or less common knowledge in the wizarding world. However, he was not certain he had ever been aware of the precise circumstances under which she had died. At last he said: 'Can you try to contact Granger?'

Luna nodded. 'Yes. I will have to look up the proper spell in my notes, first, though.' Her forehead creased. 'And Mr Ollivander still needs to be fed.'

'I will help him eat,' offered Snape, eager to make contact with Potter as soon as possible.

Luna looked at him interestedly for a few seconds, then said 'Good', got up, gathered the basket in which they had put their berries and mushrooms, and wandered off into the direction of the tent. Snape followed her example and also stood. The girl was still within sight, and Snape took care to not let her out of his vision, though he remained at a distance. It was more pleasant to watch her walk than to walk next to her. She had a spring in her step that made both her hair and the basket bounce in a very intriguing way.

Once inside the tent, she pointed into the direction of the pan that contained that night's dinner, then began rummaging through her possessions. Snape scooped some of the mix (he did not know precisely what it contained, other than mushrooms) onto a plate, and made his way toward Ollivander. The wandmaker looked somewhat surprised to see him, but did not comment on his presence.

Feeling decidedly awkard, Snape scooped up a spoonful of the food, and presented it to Ollivander, who did not hesitate in taking it. The poor man's hands were now shaking so badly that he could not hold anything for fear of dropping it. Snape knew Luna had been doing some research in hopes of keeping the shaking to a minimum, but so far, she hadn't been successful.

Snape silently fed all of the food to Ollivander, glad that the other wasn't attempting to make conversation. When Ollivander had finished his food, Snape was about to get up, relieved at the relative ease with which the process had passed. However, at that precise moment, Ollivander began to speak.

'You have changed,' he said, piercing Snape with those damned blue eyes. Snape did not reply: the comment could be taken both ways. Ollivander, apparently realising this, said 'I am beginning to see a different side of you.'

'Ah,' said Snape, unwilling to make more of a comment.

Ollivander looked at him sternly. 'However, I am still not fully convinced of your loyalties, young man. I know that Luna trusts you, but I can only say that I wish she was more careful with her judgment.'

Snape got up from the chair. He did not want to have this conversation – especially not now that Ollivander was actually berating Luna, albeit indirectly. The girl had been a blessed relief, a change from all the hate that constantly surrounded him, and he wasn't about to hear anything bad about her.

Luckily, Ollivander did not pursue the topic further. Just as Snape put the plate away in the kitchen, Luna returned from outside.

'I did it,' she said, smiling. 'I sent Hermione the message.'

'Good,' said Snape. 'Where are they?'

Luna shrugged. 'I don't know. She hasn't answered yet.'

Snape sighed, and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. 'Are you quite certain she still has that Galleon on her?'

Luna nodded fervently. 'Oh, yes. I'm not sure why, but she's always kept it. Maybe she likes the memories that are connected to it. That's why I kept it, you know. Being in the DA felt like having friends.'

Snape had to quell the urge to look away at the painfully honest statement. Still, he could not help but value it – honesty was something that one rarely came by, and Snape had reason enough to deem it important.

Luna's bulging eyes widened, and moments later she had removed the Galleon from her pocket.

'What is it?' he asked.

'Hermione has sent a reply,' Luna said simply.

'And? What does it say?'

'It says that she doesn't know if she can trust me, and that I will have to prove that I am who I claim to be.'

Snape let out his breath through his nose. 'Of course.'

Luna looked up at the pessimism in his voice. 'Don't look so depressed,' she berated him. 'I can convince her.'

He watched as she took her wand from the back pocket of her jeans, waved it around in several complicated movements, and said '_Incidere_'. For a moment, words glowed bright red on the coin – then they faded again. Luna slid the coin back into her pocket.

'And now what?' he snapped.

'Now we wait.'

Luna sat down on one of the shabby chairs around the kitchen table. After a few moments of hesitating, Snape followed her example.

'What did you tell Granger to convince her?'

'I told her that when she first introduced me to her friends, she referred to me as 'Loony' Lovegood,' said Luna calmly. 'Not in as much words, though. I don't fancy that would've fit onto the coin.'

Snape raised an eyebrow. 'She called you Loony?'

Luna nodded. 'I don't blame her. Most people call me that.'

'I –'

Luna, however, had started, and the next moment she had taken the Galleon from her pocket and was studying it.

'They're in the Forest of Dean,' she relayed. 'Hermione tells us to come quickly, because she's in trouble.' They both got up within an instant. Luna hurried over to Ollivander's bedside. 'Mr Ollivander, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to move for a bit.'

As soon as Luna had escorted the wandmaker outside, Snape waved his wand, and the tent folded itself up neatly. After shrinking it and putting it into his pocket, he took a firm hold of both the girl and the old man, and Apparated all three of them into the forest of Dean.

As soon as they arrived, he let go of the other two. Ollivander, on his right, vomited violently, and Luna hurried over to take care of him. Snape looked around. He recalled dimly that the forest of Dean was rather large, and he wondered how Granger ever intended to find them. Before that could become a problem, however, some of the bushes on their left rustled, and the girl appeared, looking very haggard. Her wand was pointed in front of her, and, at the sight of Snape, she raised it somewhat higher.

'Oh, hello, Hermione,' said Luna on his right.

Granger's eyes flicked toward Luna. 'What is _he _doing here?' It was clear that she meant him.

'He saved my life,' replied Luna, her eyes never leaving Granger's face. 'And that of Mr Ollivander here, too.'

Granger had begun to circle them, her features taking on a paranoid look. Snape noticed she looked exhausted, and, on top of that, her clothes were dirty and ripped in places. She looked as though she hadn't slept for days. 'Really?' asked Granger, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Her wand was still pointed firmly at Snape. 'Because I think this is merely a trap. _He _is holding you hostage, isn't he? Isn't he?'

'No, Hermione, he is not,' said Luna, taking a few steps in Granger's direction. 'Listen, I know you don't trust him, but you have to believe me when I say he's on our side. I don't know if you've heard about it, but just before Christmas, I was kidnapped by the Malfoys. Volde –'

'The Dark Lord!' snapped Snape.

'The Dark Lord then ordered my execution. And if it hadn't been for Severus, I would have been dead by now.'

'He killed Dumbledore!' shrieked Granger, flailing her wand about dangerously.

'I do not deny that, Miss Granger,' said Snape, cautiously stepping forward. 'However, the only reason I did so was because Professor Dumbledore explicitly asked me to. He was already dying, and he merely preferred to be killed at my hand than at Draco's. He wanted to spare the boy's soul.' Snape could not keep some bitterness from seeping into his voice.

'Prove it,' ordered Granger.

Snape sighed. Then he removed the Pensieve he'd taken from Dumbledore's office from one of his pockets. After returning the Pensieve to its original size, he put it down on a flat rock in the clearing. He then put his wand to his temple and extracted the precise memory he wanted Granger to see.

'Go ahead,' he said.

Granger observed him warily. 'How can I be certain this is not some trap? You might attack me the moment I dive in.'

'Well, tie us up if you need to,' snapped Snape. 'But do make it quick.'

'Fine. Drop your wands!'

Snape and Luna dropped their wands. Granger Summoned them, before waving her wand. Ropes appeared around all three of them.

'Careful!' warned Luna. 'Leave Mr Ollivander some air.'

Granger took a look at the wandmaker, then, seemingly deciding that he was no great threat, loosened the ropes around him somewhat. After casting one more wary look at all of them all, she dived into the Pensieve.

'That went rather well,' said Luna.

'Oh, really?' he snarled. 'Because getting tied up was not part of my plan.'

'It wasn't?' asked the girl, looking faintly surprised. 'Then why did you tell Hermione to tie us up?'

Snape turned his head into a slightly more comfortable position and refrained from answering. They remained silent for several minutes, and all that could be heard was Ollivander's heavy breathing. Then there was a disturbance, and Granger returned from the Pensieve. She immediately used her wand to untie them all, and gave Luna and Snape their wands back.

'I'm sorry,' said Granger, looking on the verge on tears. 'I didn't know.' She turned her face toward Snape, looking apologetic. 'Sorry.'

'It's okay,' said Luna. 'Now what was that trouble you told us about?'

He had not deemed it possible that Granger could look any more miserable than she already did, but it happened in that instant. Her whole body seemed to slump.

'It's Harry,' she said, sounding miserable. 'You see, Dumbledore left us this task' (Snape frowned. It had already been harsh enough for Dumbledore to leave adult people tasks, how could he possibly even have considered concerning mere students with his problems?) 'and we went to Godric's Hollow, because we thought going there would help us. However, _he _showed up too – You-Know-Who, that is – and he brought his snake with him. We managed to escape, but Harry … Harry got bitten.'

'He got bitten by Nagini?' interrupted Snape.

Granger nodded meekly. 'Yes. He is very ill. I … I'm afraid he's going to die.' A tear leaked from her eye.

Luna met his eyes, the unspoken question in them clear. Snape turned to look at Granger. 'Take me to him.'

'Can you … can you save him?' The hope in her voice was almost palpable.

'I don't know,' said Snape, honestly. 'But I will try.'

'Quickly,' said Luna, helping Ollivander up. 'We'd better not waste anymore time.'

Granger nodded and led the way. Snape increased his pace, so that he was walking next to her.

'How long ago was he bitten?'

'Two days.'

Snape frowned. Two days was much too long a time. By all rights, Potter should be dead already. However, the boy had long since shown that he was anything but ordinary. In this case, it appeared to be to his advantage. Nagini's poison usually worked quickly, and it was difficult to counter the venom – but not impossible. Arthur Weasley's bite had taught the wizarding world a lot about this particular kind of venom, and Snape was almost certain he knew how to brew an antidote. There were only two problems: he needed to find the right ingredients, and Potter needed to stay alive long enough to receive the antidote.

They had reached a second clearing. Snape, not seeing anything of interest, was about to continue, but Granger held out her arm to stop him. She waved her wand in complicated motions, obviously undoing earlier spells. Moments later, a tent flickered into being. As soon as the whole group had stepped into the circle surrounding the tent, Granger began to do the spells up again. Snape did not wait to watch her, instead opting to go inside the tent and have a look at Potter.

It was not hard to spot the boy. He was in one of the beds, trashing about wildly. When Snape neared him, he noticed that Potter was sweating all over. He felt the boy's forehead, not surprised to find that he had developed a fever. He pulled away the blankets that still partly covered the boy. By this time, the others had entered the tent.

'Where is the wound?'

Granger hurried over and raised Potter's shirt, under which dressings were visible. The blood had leaked through them. Snape removed the dressings and observed the still bleeding wound. The flesh was raw, and, what was worse, the skin around it was beginning to colour green. The infection was rapidly spreading – Potter could not hope to survive another day.

'Did he immediately lose consciousness after being bitten?' Snape asked, waving his wand to make more dressings appear.

'No,' said Granger, taking the dressings and beginning to cover the wound. 'He was still awake for a few hours. He said he was in excruciating pain …' her voice broke here. 'He lost consciousness after about four hours. I tried everything, but I just couldn't find anything on snake venom in my books …'

'I doubt you would have found the antidote even if you had been in the possession of the correct books,' said Snape. 'Nagini's venom is very special and hard to counter. However, I have developed a potion that should be able to reverse the effects.'

Granger's head snapped up. 'Do you have it with you?'

'No, I will need to brew it. I trust you have a cauldron and equipment?'

Granger nodded, and pointed in the direction of the kitchen. 'It's all over there.'

'And Potions ingredients?'

'Only the basic ones.'

Snape sighed. 'Listen to me carefully. You will need to go into the woods and look for ingredients. I do have some of the ingredients that I need with me, and your basic ones will cover for most of the rest, but there are some things that I cannot do without. We are lucky you chose this forest – all of the ingredients should be around here somewhere. I will compose a list of what we need. Miss Granger, you and Luna should leave immediately. I will start on the potion in the meantime.'

Both Luna and Granger nodded, the latter a bit shakily. Snape took a scrap of paper from his pocket, and after Granger provided him with a pen, he composed a list of the ingredients needed.

'I trust you know what these look like?' he asked, handing the list to Granger.

She quickly scanned it. 'Yes.'

'Then leave at once, and find those ingredients as quickly as you can.'

Granger and Luna collected their coats and then left the tent. Ollivander, meanwhile, had sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. Snape also entered the kitchen, and began to open drawers and cabinets. He found the cauldron, equipment and ingredients Granger had told him about. He created a fire on the stone floor, and placed the ingredients and equipment on the kitchen table.

For the first time, he noticed the absence of the Weasley boy.

* * *

Luna hurried after Hermione as she dashed through the woods.

'Right,' said Hermione, sounded rather distracted. 'We'll need to find Asphodel root, valerian, fluxweed, daisy roots, hellebore and Aconite. Most of which are poisonous. Why does he need so many poisonous ingredients?' Hermione sounded panicked.

Luna put a hand on the other girl's arm. 'I'm sure Severus knows what he's doing,' she assured Hermione. 'But I thought fluxweed needed to be taken at full moon?'

'Only if you want to use it in Polyjuice Potion.'

'I see. Look, there are some daisies over there!'

Hermione's head snapped in the direction of the daisies, and they hurried toward the plants. They knelt down in the grass and began to pluck the best-looking of the flowers. They then put the flowers into one of the boxes Hermione had taken with her, and continued on through the forest.

'So, where did Ron go?' Luna asked, attempting to make conversation.

It was clear that she'd pulled the wrong string. More tears appeared in Hermione's red-rimmed eyes. 'Oh, he left a while ago,' she said, attempting to sound airy. 'Said he didn't want any more to do with Harry and me. Well, we don't need him anyway. Stupid idiot.'

Luna did not say anything in return. As they scanned the floor for more ingredients, Hermione's tears fell onto the forest ground.

'Are you all right?'

Hermione shook her head. 'I don't know what I'll do without him,' she whispered. 'I don't know how I'll go on if Harry dies.'

Luna put her arm around the other girl, hoping to provide some comfort.

* * *

Snape found himself cutting up ingredient after ingredient – however, the potion was highly complicated, and so many different ingredients were required, that even though he was cutting as fast as he possibly could, he was not advancing nearly as quickly as he would have liked. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and ran down his nose as he threw chopped up roots into the cauldron above the fire.

Olivander had been looking at him for a while. The old man finally cleared his throat, causing Snape to look up at the sudden disturbance.

'I …' began the wandmaker, sounding weak. He waited a few moments, then spoke again, his voice more steady this time. 'I could help you, if you want.'

Snape observed the old man for a few moments, then, letting his eyes drift over the unprepared ingredients, said: 'Well … I suppose. No slicing, though, I think …'

Ollivander nodded in agreement, observing his shaking hands. Snape shoved several things that looked like potatoes onto a plate, and handed the whole bunch to Ollivander.

'If you would please peel them.'

Once again, Ollivander nodded, and set to work. Snape returned to chopping up roots. Together, they worked in companionable silence, Ollivander cleaning and peeling, and Snape cutting and slicing. Ollivander's hands didn't even shake as badly as they usually did. On the bed behind them, Potter was trashing in his sleep – more and more frequently. Snape cast worried glances in the boy's direction from time to time – other times, he looked at the entrance of the tent, so as to see whether there was any sign of Granger and Luna yet.

They took their time, however, and Snape was just throwing the last of the ingredients he'd prepared into the cauldron, when the tent flap was pulled aside and both girls entered. Luna shot him a smile – he did not know why, but seeing her return made him feel calmer.

Luna put the fresh ingredients down on the table, and he immediately began sorting them, separating the bad ones from the good ones. The girls had done a surprisingly good job – hardly any of the ingredients were ruined. Luna, meanwhile, escorted Ollivander (who had nodded off a while ago) back to bed, and Granger hurried over to Potter's side – to hold his hand, no doubt.

As soon as Luna had put Ollivander to bed, she returned to the kitchen, and took the place at the table that Ollivander had previously occupied. She, too, pulled some of the ingredients toward her, and, after asking Snape how he wanted them, began to prepare them.

They worked in silence for a while, until Luna finally spoke. 'Do you think it'll be finished in time?'

Snape threw another look into the direction of the boy. Even from this distance, Potter was looking pale and sickly. Granger was sitting next to him, looking extremely worried.

'I don't know,' he said, meeting Luna's gaze. 'I did not want to tell you before because Miss Granger was listening, but these are not precisely the ingredients I need. I had to substitute some things, because they cannot be found in these woods. I believe this will work – but I cannot be certain.'

Luna lightly put a hand on his arm, and said, 'I know you are doing your best.'

Then she went over to Granger and knelt down next to the girl, conversing quietly. Snape threw the last of the leaves into the cauldron, then extinguished the fire beneath it. All there was left to do now was to wait for the potion to cool down. Snape looked into the cauldron – the substance had at least assumed the right colour, texture and smell.

A cool hand was placed on top of his own, and one of his vials was pushed into his hand. Luna watched as he took a spoonful of the potion and filled the vial. Then he carried it over to Potter's bedside. Granger quickly scooted out of the way, though she did not let go of Potter's hand. Luna lifted the boy's head and tipped it back, and Snape gently pried Potter's lips apart and slipped the potion into his mouth. He massaged Potter's throat to make him swallow.

Then they waited. After several long moments, Granger asked, 'How much longer until the potion takes effect?'

Snape did not reply. He watched the boy's face, searching for any kind of change. Potter looked as pale and sweaty as ever before. Was it possible that he had a mistake regarding the potion? Was one of the substitutes used not adequate? Or was Potter simply too far gone to be saved?

Granger let out a strangled sob, and Luna pulled the girl into her arms. Still Snape sat gazing at Potter's face, waiting for anything to change. There was a slight pressure on his arm. When he turned his face, he discovered Luna had pulled one arm away from around Granger, and had laid her hand on his arm. She shook her head minutely. Snape, however, did not remove himself from the boy's bedside. He could not have been mistaken – there was no reason why the potion shouldn't work. Unless … the boy was known to be a special case – but certainly not so special as to not respond normally to potions?

'Severus,' came Luna's voice, holding a slight warning. Snape, however, put up his hand to silence her. Some of the colour had returned to Potter's face, and, leaning in close, Snape discovered that the boy's breathing had returned to semi-regular. His fever was breaking.

Granger, having freed herself from Luna's embrace to see what was going on, let out a strangled scream, and nearly threw herself on top of Potter. Snape pulled her back roughly by her shoulder.

'Try not to suffocate him, Miss Granger. I would hate to see my efforts wasted.'

The girl had the decency to look embarrassed. 'Will he get better, now?' she asked, tentatively.

Snape chanced another look at the boy. The colour was returning steadily to Potter's face. He returned his gaze toward Granger, meeting her red-rimmed eyes. 'Most likely,' he said, coldly.

'Thank you,' she whispered, tears spilling from her eyes once more. Snape got up, leaving both girls with Potter. He went outside to get some air.

* * *

Luna sat gazing at Hermione, who was still clinging onto Harry's hand for dear life.

'You might consider loosening your grip a bit,' Luna advised her. 'Or you'll leave marks.'

Flushing, Hermione loosened her grip on Harry's hand. The tears were still streaming down her face, leaving damp tracks on her cheeks. Luna observed all of this calmly: Hermione's wild hair, the purple circles beneath her eyes, the thumb caressing Harry's hand. And she drew her own conclusions.

'You're in love with him, aren't you?' It wasn't really a question. How could something be a question when you already knew the answer?

Hermione's eyes widened. 'How … why …?'

'It's rather obvious, really.'

Hermione shook her head, a small smile appearing on her face. 'To be honest, I'm not too sure. I'm just so confused …' Her brown eyes met Luna's. 'Because, at first, I was having all these feelings for Ron, and then, it just didn't feel right anymore … And when he left, I suddenly started noticing all these little things about Harry. The way he smiles, how kind he really is …'

Luna nodded knowingly. 'You love him.'

'Oh, I don't know,' sighed Hermione. 'But the more time I spend with him, the more I'm beginning to become convinced that this is right … When he – when he was so ill, I was so incredibly worried about him. I told you that I couldn't go on without him. And … I think that's true.'

They sat in silence for a while. Luna's eyes drifted over Ollivander's form on the other bed. The old man was asleep. She wished Severus could whip up a potion to fix him, too – but things were not that easy.

'Ron is a good man,' she said, at last. 'But I don't think he's the right one for you.'

Hermione's head snapped up, her expression a mixture of surprise and gratitude. Luna smiled at her, then got up and went outside, just as Snape had done earlier. There was no sign of the man, but Luna wasn't too worried. She hung around near the tent, and after a few moments she discovered Snape's silhouette between the trees, and wandered over to him.

As she got nearer to him, the light of her wand illuminating her way, she noticed he looked positively exhausted. Well, that was no great surprise. She was feeling a bit tired herself, too.

'You did well,' she told him, leaning against a tree.

Snape shook his head. 'The worst is still to come.'

'That's not true,' she replied, in a berating fashion. 'Harry dying would have been infinitely worse than anything else.'

Severus was quiet for a few more moments, then said 'I suppose you are right. However, I foresee trouble when I talk to Potter.'

'Maybe,' she said, trying to make out his eyes in the darkness. 'But at least he'll be too physically drained to attack you. With anything other than words, that is.'

'I am used to words.'

'You never get used to words.' Severus looked up, and there was a question in his eyes. However, this was not the time to answer it. 'Either way,' she continued, stepping closer to him, 'I will be there the whole time.'

'Which will be a real comfort to me, I'm sure,' he replied dryly.

She smiled. Already much of that stern, troubled spy was beginning to fade. Given enough time, he would come to enjoy life again, of that she was certain. And, of course, she was perfectly willing to lend a hand and help fate along.

'It should be,' she said. 'Honestly, though, you can always show Harry the memories. He will understand.'

'You sound convicted.'

'I am. I know Harry.'

Snape shook his head, but did not protest. Rather, he stared off into the direction of the tent. She followed his gaze. Hermione would be sleeping by now – she had been so exhausted. Luna felt as though she could do with a nap herself. And, judging by how he looked, so could Severus.

'I need to sleep,' she said.

'I won't stop you.'

'You need to sleep, too.'

There was no movement from beside her. She allowed him a few more moments to get into motion, then, judging that he was not about to do as she had suggested, she slipped her hand into his and began to pull him along. He went with her surprisingly easily, as though he was a lamb rather than a feared murderer and traitor. Well, she'd always known he wasn't as tough as he liked to appear on the outside.

Still, it would not be a good thing for her to get on his bad side. She had seen the sharpness of that tongue, and the speed with which he could draw his wand. Severus Snape was not a man to be taken lightly, and she would not make the mistake of doing so.

She pulled aside the tent flap and pulled Snape along with her, too. Once inside, she let go of his hand. He ought to be capable of finding a bed – if not, he could simply take the floor.

Without even bothering to take off her clothes, she threw herself down onto a bed. Sleeping with clothes on was a sure fire way to attrack Flipsprigs, but she was willing to take the risk tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **I tried to keep the part with Snape's memories as short as possible while still getting the necessary information across, but, well, it's still quite long. So I apologize for that and I hope it's not too boring.

_Chapter five_

It took another two days, but eventually, Potter woke up, and there was much rejoicing when he did, especially on the side of Granger, who went as far as to kiss him the moment his eyes opened – to which the boy responded enthusiastically. He greeted Luna with happiness but also with slight confusion, he was cordial to Ollivander, but the moment he laid eyes on Snape, the situation changed dramatically.

For a few moments, the boy's jaws worked soundlessly. Then he spat, '_you_!'

Granger put a steadying hand on Potter's shoulder. 'Harry, Professor Snape just saved your life.'

'No, he can't have,' said Potter, not taking his eyes off Snape. 'Whatever would his interest be in saving me? He wants me dead.'

'I do not want you dead, Potter,' Snape replied, icily. 'If I did, I wouldn't have wasted my time saving you from that snake bite.'

'You killed Dumbledore!' roared the boy. 'You're a Death Eater! You're with Volde-'

'Harry!' interrupted the Granger girl. 'Harry, do you really think that I didn't think all of that? Because I did, and I can tell you now that things are not as they seem.'

Potter looked at her as though he was seeing her for the first time. 'You trust _him_?'

'Yes, Harry, I do, and if you would give him a moment to explain, so would you!' she replied.

'I did not kill the Headmaster because I wanted to,' interrupted Snape. 'I killed him because he ordered me to!'

'Why would he order you to?' the boy yelled. 'It makes no sense! Why would he want to be killed?'

'Oh, Harry, don't you see?' asked Granger, looking at the boy sadly. 'It makes perfect sense - it's so logical, I don't know how I didn't see it before ... He was already dying, Harry.'

'That's ridiculous! What would he be dying of?'

'You saw his hand. You know that he was cursed. It was only a matter of time before the curse spread through the rest of his body. That's a slow death, Harry, and very painful. Avada Kedavra would be preferable by far.'

'Then why didn't he tell us? Why didn't he explain? If that is all there is to it -'

'Harry, you know it was Malfoy's mission to kill Dumbledore. Dumbledore did not want that to happen, so he decided on the only other option: to let Snape kill him. That way, Draco would still be unblemished, and Snape could continue his role as a spy.'

'Well, a fine spy he is, showing up here and saving my life!' roared Potter. 'You try making me believe all of that!'

'Harry,' said Luna, speaking for the first time. She stepped forward from the shadows in which she had been standing. 'The only reason he is not still a spy is because he gave himself up in order to save Mr Ollivander and me.'

'Save you?' Potter was looking more confused by the minute.

Luna nodded. 'We were taken prisoner by the Malfoys. You-Know-Who ordered my execution, and if it hadn't been for Severus, I would long be dead.'

'"Severus"? How long have you been calling him that? Has he brainwashed you too?'

'Harry, no one has been brainwashed,' said Granger, an edge of desperation to her voice. 'If you give Professor Snape a few moments, you'll see that what he has to say is right and worth listening to.'

'Well, prove it then!'

Snape did not verbally reply - rather, he groped around in his pocket for the Pensieve, returned it to its original size, and put it down onto Potter's makeshift bedside cabinet. Then, taking a deep breath, he touched his wand to his temple and pulled out wisp after wisp of memory. When he was finally finished, he felt empty and drained. Potter was looking at him suspiciously. Snape nodded toward the Pensieve.

'There's your proof, Potter.'

Potter shot a glance at Granger, who nodded vehemently. Then, after taking a breath, Potter plunged headfirst into the shallow basin.

Snape sat down onto one of the kitchen chairs. Granger and Ollivander had not moved; Luna had taken to cleaning things up inside the tent.

'You may want to occupy yourselves otherwise,' he told Granger and Ollivander, the first of which startled at his comment. 'This may take a while.'

Ollivander nodded and took off after Luna. He heard him offer her help, which she gladly accepted. When Snape next glanced over, Ollivander was doing dishes, sitting at the sink. Granger still had not moved from her spot on the bed. She was looking at Snape somewhat tearfully.

'Will this convince him?' she asked, at last.

Snape nodded slowly. 'If this does not convince him, then nothing will.'

Granger also nodded. Snape decided to go outside for a few moments. The evening air was cool and refreshing, and he took several calming breaths. Right now, Potter was looking at some of the most emotional and personal memories of his entire life. That was quite something - presenting your enemy with such crucial and potentially damaging material. However, it was a risk that needed to be taken - Potter would not be swayed if he did not understand why Snape had done what he had done.

That did not make it any easier. In about a quarter of an hour, the boy would emerge from the Pensieve in the full knowledge that Snape had once been hopelessly in love with his mother - something that only the Dark Lord and Dumbledore had ever found out. He did not know if he could ever look the boy straight in the eyes again. Of all the horrors in the world ...

And then there was the small matter that Potter still might not be convinced. Snape did not think it beyond the boy to claim that the memories were forged, or that they could not possibly have been reason enough for Snape to trade sides. If that happened, he figured he had best tell Potter what he needed to know, and then leave as quickly as possible.

He wondered how things had ever managed to get so complicated. And yet, considering, things always got complicated when Dumbledore decided to meddle. They had all just been pawns of the great master mind - they were pawns still. Was he not still carrying out Dumbledore's last mission? Was the boy not still operating on Dumbledore's orders? They were all such fools for just doing as they were told, never pausing to think for themselves, never questioning an order. They were so adjusted to just doing whatever insane thing Dumbledore commanded, that they did not even see the insanity of it anymore.

The opening to the tent widened behind him, and when he turned to look who had joined him in his solitary vigil, he saw that it was Luna.

'He is finished,' she said, her voice not giving anything away. Before Snape could ask more she had turned around, and had skipped back toward the tent, her hair bouncing behind her. Well, if she was skipping, it couldn't possibly be too bad. His legs feeling like lead, he followed her back into the tent, all sorts of bad scenarios playing out inside his head. For all he knew, Potter would draw a wand on him the moment he stepped inside the tent.

Nothing of the sort happened. Rather, the moment he entered the tent, the form that was Harry Potter clumsily rose from the bed, and took a few faltering steps toward Snape, then a few more, until, at last, he could fling his arms around Snape. Snape, startled both by the action and the sudden weight of the boy, was hard-pressed to keep standing upright. After a few moments, he regained his balance, and became dimly aware that Potter was sobbing into his robes much like a child would.

Helplessly he looked around. Ollivander had returned to sleep, Granger was close to crying herself, and all Luna did was shoot him a blinding smile. No help there. Clumsily, he patted Potter on the back. The memories had been meant to convince Potter he was on his side, not to reduce him to a wailing, blabbering mess. Eventually, Granger took pity on Snape and peeled Potter away from him. The boy flushed, embarrassed, however, he did not back off very far.

'I'm so sorry,' he said.

Snape blinked. He had been expecting many things, but not an apology. He was not sure he liked where this was headed. 'Potter, this really is not nece-'

'But it is necessary!' yelled the boy, once again grasping Snape by the front of his robes. 'All this time I have been hating you, chasing you, wishing you dead – and it turns out I was wronging you! You were on our side the whole time! I can only imagine the hardships that you've had to go through!' Then, darkly, 'And all this time I have been following _his _orders, running around on _his _command …'

There was no need to ask who was meant here. Potter, too, had experienced betrayal and lying at the hand of the great Albus Dumbledore.

'Mr Potter,' he interrupted, before things could get even messier. 'I have no desire to discuss my memories with you at the present moment, and, more importantly, you need to rest. I suggest you return to your bed and sleep for a few hours.'

Potter looked for a moment as though he would protest, but then he nodded meekly and stumbled back to his bed, helped by Granger. Catching Luna's eye, Snape went out of the tent again. It was becoming rather a habit – soon he'd be spending more time outside the tent than in it.

As he had expected, Luna showed up moments later, looking at him questioningly.

'I told you it would work,' she said, smiling slightly. The radish earrings were still present, looking a bit more tarnished than before.

'So you did.'

'I must admit I was rather surprised by the completeness of the transformation of Harry's beliefs,' she mused.

Snape's heart sank. This was not something he particularly cared to discuss. However, as Luna turned her bulging eyes on him, he knew that he could not escape this conversation much longer. He probably trusted this girl most out of all wizards and witches in Britain, and if anyone deserved to hear the full story, it was her.

'I will show you what I showed him. But it is not nice.'

'Life rarely is.'

He went back inside to fetch the Pensieve.

* * *

She watched as he put the Pensieve down onto a flat rock, and then gestured for her to come over. She did as he asked, and sat down next to the rock. She noticed Severus was looking rather tense, but then, that was to be expected. She supposed showing other people your most emotional memories was rather frightening for the majority of the world.

'If you don't want me to watch, I won't,' she said, knowing that Severus would not turn back now. The moment he had offered it, the deal had been sealed.

'No,' he said, his voice rough. 'Watch it. Please.'

She smiled, and then lowered her head into the Pensieve, as she had seen Harry do. She'd never used this instrument before, but its workings proved to be rather easy. The moment her nose touched the surface of Snape's thoughts, she tumbled head-first into his memories.

Luna landed rather ungracefully on the ground. It was a sunny day, and for a few moments she was blinded by the sudden light. When her eyes adjusted, she discovered that she was standing in a playground. There were two girls on the swings nearby, but it was not them Luna paid attention to. Behind a clump of bushes stood a skinny boy. His clothes were rather mismatched – Luna wondered if he was thinking of starting a new fashion trend. Already the black hair was greasy and the nose hooked – she was looking at a younger Severus Snape.

Severus, in turn, was eagerly observing one of the girls as she was swinging higher and higher. His thin face was ablaze with greed. It looked somewhat disconcerting.

'Lily, don't do it!' screamed one of the girls. Luna turned just in time to see the red-headed girl jump off the swing at its highest point, and then watched as she made a graceful landing. It was clear that magic was at work here – the jump would have been impossible otherwise. This had been a game that Luna had particularly enjoyed herself when she was younger, to her father's enormous concern.

'Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!'

'But I'm fine,' said the other girl, giggling. 'Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do.'

Luna watched as the girl picked up a flower from the ground near where Snape was hiding, and then closed her hand around it. The other girl, Tuney or whatever her name was, advanced slowly, looking disapproving but curious at the same time. When she was close enough, the red-head held out her hand and showed her sister the flower, its petals now opening and closing in rapid succession.

'Stop it!' shrieked Tuney, obviously frightened. Luna blinked. She did not know why the girl was frightened: certainly this was no more than a regular piece of magic, one which all children were capable of performing?

'It's not hurting you,' said Lily, throwing the flower back onto the ground.

'It's not right,' said the other girl, watching the flower as it fell. She looked eager. 'How do you do it?'

'It's obvious, isn't it?' Luna watched as little Severus jumped out from behind the bushes. Tuney screamed and ran toward the swings, Lily, however, stayed rooted to the ground, though she looked decidedly startled. Severus' cheeks had coloured and he was looking at Lily. It occurred to her then that little Severus had been in love with this Lily – it was visible in every feature of his face. She watched the other girl with somewhat more interest, but failed to notice what exactly it was that drew Severus to her.

'What's obvious?' asked Lily.

Severus glanced at Tuney, clearly desperate to spill the beans, but at the same time somewhat nervous. Lowering his voice, he said, 'I know what you are.'

'What do you mean?' Lily looked confused.

'You're … you're a witch,' whispered Severus. Luna was mesmerized by how dry his lips were looking. Overall, he did not seem to be very well-looked after.

'_That's _not a very nice thing to say to somebody!'

Luna blinked. Why was this girl taking Severus' comment as an insult? As her eyes drifted over the playground, and the houses around them, the mills and chimneys, it suddenly occurred to her that they were in a Muggle neighbourhood. It seemed, then, as though this Lily had not yet discovered the source of her powers, but Severus certainly had. At the same time, she realised Lily's sister was not a witch – she had not known how Lily could do the trick with the flower, and magic, if present, would have shown itself by now.

Lily, clearly affronted, turned, and marched off toward her sister.

'No!' yelled Severus, the colour in his cheeks increasing a notch. He ran after the girls, struggling with his overly large clothing. Luna felt the vague desire to hug him.

Both sisters looked highly disapproving as they stared at Severus.

'You _are_,' he told the red-head. 'You _are _a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with that. My mum's one, and I'm a wizard.'

Tuney laughed. It sounded cold and mean. 'Wizard!' she shrieked, obviously not scared anymore. '_I _know who _you _are. You're that Snape boy!' Then, to Lily, she added, 'They live down Spinner's End by the river.' This did not appear to hold a high place in the girl's standards. Luna decided she disliked this Tuney – to judge someone on basis of where they lived was terribly rude. 'Why have you been spying on us?'

'Haven't been spying,' said Severus. He was still rather red in the face and looked highly uncomfortable. 'Wouldn't spy on _you_, anyway, _you're _a Muggle.'

Well, that _was_ rather mean.

'Lily, come on, we're leaving!' said Tuney, clearly aware that she had been insulted. Lily immediately left with her sister, glaring at Severus as she left. Severus looked after them, and Luna observed him. He looked incredibly disappointed – as though everything he had been planning for so long had turned out all wrong …

The scene dissolved and then reformed. Severus was rushing through the corridor of the Hogwarts Express, already dressed in his school robes. Luna could not blame him: it must not be very comfortable to wear ill-fitting clothes all the time. Severus only stopped when he found the compartment in which the girl named Lily was sitting, her face pressed against the window pane. There was also a group of rowdy boys, but Severus ignored them for the moment. He slid open the compartment door and sat down opposite Lily.

Lily glanced at him, and then looked out of the window again. Her eyes were red-rimmed and there were half-dried tear tracks on her cheeks. It was evident that she had been crying.

'I don't want to talk to you,' she said, her voice choked.

'Why not?' Severus looked befuddled.

'Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore.'

'So what?'

Luna winched internally. It was becoming rapidly clear why Severus dealt with emotions so badly – he was not used to taking other people's feelings into account, simply because that had never happened with him.

'So she's my sister!'

'She's only a –' but he managed to stop himself before making the situation worse. Lily, trying to wipe her eyes unseen, had not noticed.

'But we're going!' he said, sounding as excited as she'd ever heard him. 'This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!'

Lily nodded, and even smiled a little.

'You'd better be in Slytherin,' said Severus, encouraged by her smile.

'Slytherin?'

One of the boys that were also in the compartment had turned around. His resemblance to Harry was striking, and Luna realized at once that this must be Harry's father. The only things that distinguished him from his son were the missing scar and the differently coloured eyes.

Realisation dawning, Luna looked back at Lily. She noticed for the first time that the girl's green eyes were identical to Harry's. How silly she had been not to notice it before! Severus had been in love with Harry's mother! Well, that certainly complicated things. Obviously, Severus had lost the battle for Lily's affections to Harry's father (wasn't his name James?) – and as such it was no wonder, really, that he disliked seeing Harry. Who wouldn't dislike having to deal with the replica of his rival?

'Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?' James asked the boy sitting opposite him.

'My whole family have been in Slytherin,' said the boy.

'Blimey. And I thought you seemed all right.'

The boy grinned. 'Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?'

James thrust out an invisible sword in front of him. Luna giggled. '"_Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!_" Like my dad.'

Severus made a disapproving noise. James turned toward him. 'Got a problem with that?'

'No,' said Severus, and already the beginnings of that sneer he was so fond of using in later life were on his face, 'If you'd rather be brawny than brainy – '

'Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?' said the boy opposite James. Luna frowned in disapproval. She did not approve of bullying, having been bullied quite a lot herself. She knew she shouldn't take it personally, but other people had more difficulties accepting that. She glanced back at Severus.

'Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment,' said Lily, looking at the two boys with utmost dislike.

'Ooooo…'

Lily and Severus left – James nearly succeeded in tripping Severus on his way out.

'See ya, Snivellus!'

The compartment door slammed shut, and once again the scene was dissolving …

Luna was inside the Great Hall, now. Glancing around, she noticed the students were all watching Professor McGonagall, who was holding up a rather frayed-looking hat. She had ended up at the Sorting ceremony!

'Evans, Lily!' said Professor McGonagall, and Lily walked forwards, looking highly nervous. Professor McGonagall lowered the Sorting Hat onto her head.

Moments later, it cried, 'Gryffindor!'

There was a groan next to her – she took notice of Severus for the first time.

Lily had gone over to the Gryffindor table, glancing back at Snape with a sad smile.

Luna watched as more and more students were sorted. Once, she experienced a jolt when she recognised Professor Lupin. Maybe that was why Severus didn't like him, if they'd attended school together, maybe something had happened …

'Snape, Severus!'

Severus walked up to the stool, sat down, and allowed McGonagall to place the Hat onto his head. 'Slytherin!' it cried, and Severus walked towards the Slytherin table …

The scene changed again.

Lily and Severus were outside in the castle courtyard, evidently arguing. They seemed older now – Luna guessed that a few years had passed. She quickly caught up with them so as to listen to their conversation.

'… thought we were supposed to be friends?' asked Severus. 'Best friends?'

'We _are_, Sev, but I don't like some of the people you're hanging around with! I'm sorry, but I detest Avery and Mulciber. _Mulciber_! What do you see in him, Sev? He's creepy! D'you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?'

It appeared as though their friendship had grown quite rocky. Both were claiming to be the other's friend, yet they obviously disapproved of some things the other did.

'That was nothing,' said Severus. 'It was a laugh, that's all –'

'It was Dark Magic, and if you think that's funny – '

Ah, so this had to be around the time that Severus got involved with the people who would later turn out to be Death Eaters. Luna wondered a little sadly how Severus' life could have been, had he been Sorted elsewhere, or had he even become friends with different people.

'What about the stuff Potter and his mates get up to?' Severus asked. The red blotches had returned to his cheeks. It was clear that he hated these people with a passion.

'What's Potter got to do with anything?'

'They sneak out at night. There's something weird about that Lupin. Where does he keep going?' Ah, so this was the source of Severus' resentment of Professor Lupin.

'He's ill,' said Lily. 'They say he's ill – '

'Every month at the full moon?'

'I know your theory,' said Lily, and for someone claiming to be a friend, she sounded rather icy. 'Why are you so obsessed with them, anyway? Why do you care what they're doing at night?'

'I'm just trying to show you they're not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are.'

Severus stared at her with such intensity that she blushed, and it appeared for a moment as though she would look away. Then Lily said, 'They don't use Dark Magic, though.' She lowered her voice. 'And you're being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night. You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomping Willow and James Potter saved you from whatever's down there –'

Severus' face contorted into a grimace. 'Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends' too! You're not going to – I won't let you –'

From Lily's expression it became immediately clear that Severus had made a huge mistake. '_Let _me? _Let _me?'

Realising the danger, Severus amended his statement. 'I didn't mean – I just don't want to see you made a fool of – he fancies you, James Potter fancies you! And he's not … Everyone thinks … Big Quidditch hero - ' Luna felt sorry for the boy standing before her. It was clear that Severus' deep dislike of the Potters was rooted here – James Potter had snatched the girl he fancied away from right under his nose.

'I know James Potter's an arrogant toerag,' interrupted Lily. 'I don't need you to tell me that. But Mulciber and Avery's idea of humour is just evil. _Evil_, Sev. I don't understand how you can be friends with them.'

But Severus was not listening anymore. After Lily's comment about James Potter, a weight seemed to have fallen off him, and he was looking rather more cheerful as they walked on.

The scene dissolved, and then reformed again.

Luna watched as Severus left his O.W.L. examination in Defence of the Dark Arts, closely followed by James Potter and his friends. Curiously, she followed Severus, who seemed rather alone in the crowd. He sat down somewhere to read, however, Potter wouldn't let him. It wasn't too long before the four friends – well, two of them really – began to insult and then attack Severus.

Lily came to his rescue, however, Severus was not pleased by this. He appeared to think that the fact he needed her help was a weakness, and in his humiliation and fury, he made what Luna immediately recognised as the biggest mistake in his life.

'Mudblood,' he said, and then the game was up. She watched as Lily left, deeply insulted, and she watched as Potter's friends once again hoisted Severus up into the air and threatened to undress him.

This time, the scene did not reform immediately. Shapes and colours whirled around Luna, and she had to close her eyes against a sudden wave of nausea. 'Let it out,' her father would have said. Poor papa, all alone in Azkaban …

The scene had finally reformed. Luna found herself on a hilltop, around which the wind was blowing. Leaves were strewn about everywhere, and it appeared to be cold and stormy. Severus was close to her, and from his appearance she gathered that he was now about twenty, twenty-one. He turned on the spot, panting, gripping his wand tightly. Luna joined him in looking about for the unknown but obviously expected someone … From every movement or sound that Severus made, it was clear that he was incredibly terrified.

A jagged jet of white light appeared – Luna had to close her eyes against the sudden brightness. When she opened her eyes again, Severus was kneeling on the ground, his wand laying several metres away.

Dumbledore was standing before them, looking more terrifying than Luna had ever imagined he could be. The air around the Headmaster positively crackled, and, involuntarily, she took a step back. Severus was trembling heavily.

'Don't kill me!'

'That was not my intention.'

Dumbledore's robes were whipped about by the wind, and along with the eerie light from his wand, that lighted his face strangely from below, he barely appeared human – much more a ghost, a dangerous apparition.

'Well, Severus? What message does Lord Voldemort have for me?'

'No – no message – I'm here on my own account!' Severus wringed his hands, and Luna felt for him intensely in that moment. He looked like a man whose very life was depending upon this moment – well, his mind was, in any case. 'I – I come with a warning – no, a request – please –'

Dumbledore flicked his wand, and immediately silence fell upon them. The leaves and branches were still flying around, but they no longer made a sound. The wind was quiet.

'What request could a Death Eater make of me?' Dumbledore looked haughty and menacing.

'The – the prophecy … the prediction … Trelawney …'

'Ah, yes. How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?'

'Everything – everything I heard!' said Severus, breathlessly. 'That is why – it is for that reason – he thinks it means Lily Evans!'

'The prophecy did not refer to a woman,' corrected Dumbledore. 'It spoke of a boy born at the end of July – '

'You know what I mean!' said Severus, losing his temper. 'He thinks it means her son, he is going to hunt her down – kill them all –'

'If she means so much to you,' said Dumbledore, and this time there was definitely that tone of sarcasm, those carefully picked words meant to hurt, 'surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?'

'I have – I have asked him – '

'You disgust me,' said Dumbledore, and the very emotion was dripping from his words. Severus appeared to shrink in size. 'You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child? They can die, as long as you have what you want?'

'Hide them all, then,' croaked Severus, gazing up at Dumbledore in utmost desperation. 'Keep her – them – safe. Please.'

'And what will you give me in return?' demanded Dumbledore coolly.

'In – in return?' Severus gaped at Dumbledore, and Luna found herself leaning forwards, awaiting his reply. 'Anything.'

The scene faded, and when it reappeared, Luna found herself in Severus' office. Or, rather, it had still been Dumbledore's office at the time the event now unfolding before her eyes had taken place.

There was a horrible, horrible sound, as though someone or something was dying. Severus was slumped forwards in a chair, and Dumbledore was standing over him. Snape raised his head, and misery was etched into every line of his prematurely old face.

'I thought … you were going … to keep her … safe …'

'She and James put their faith in the wrong person,' said Dumbledore, calm in a menacing manner. 'Rather like you, Severus. Weren't you hoping that Lord Voldemort would spare her?'

Severus did not answer. He stared in front of him.

'Her boy survives,' Dumbledore continued. Snape jerked his head. 'Her son lives. He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the shape and colour of Lily Evans' eyes, I am sure?' Dumbledore's voice was crawling over her skin, making her feel sick and disgusted. Luna wished she was out of this room, away from the horrid memory.

'DON'T!' shouted Severus. 'Gone … dead …'

'Is this remorse, Severus?'

'I wish … I wish _I _were dead …'

'And what use would that be to anyone?' asked Dumbledore, and he sounded cold. 'If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear.'

Severus stared at Dumbledore, apparently only dimly aware of what the other had said. 'What – what do you mean?'

'You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily's son.'

'He does not need protection. The Dark Lord has gone –'

' – the Dark Lord will return, and Harry Potter will be in terrible danger when he does.'

They did not speak for a while. Gradually, Severus' breathing eased, and he appeared to be a bit more in control of himself.

'Very well. Very well,' he said, at last. 'But never – never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear … especially Potter's son … I want your word!'

'My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you? If you insist …'

The scene dissolved, and the next moment Luna found herself in the Headmaster's office once again. It was night, and the room was dimly illuminated by wandlight and several candles. Dumbledore lay in the throne-like chair behind his desk, seemingly only partly aware of what was going on around him. Severus half-knelt in front of the chair, murmuring incantations with his wand pointed at Dumbledore's blackened hand. With his left hand, he poured a goblet full of a thick golden potion down Dumbledore's throat. After several moments, Dumbledore's eyes opened.

'Why,' said Severus, immediately, '_why _did you put on that ring? It carries a curse, surely you realised that. Why even touch it?'

Luna let her eyes wander over the desk – on top of it lay a cracked ring. The sword of Gryffindor lay beside it.

'I …' began Dumbledore, winching, '… was a fool. Sorely tempted …'

'Tempted by what?' inquired Severus.

Dumbledore did not reply.

'It is a miracle you managed to return here!' said Severus, sounding incredibly angry. 'That ring carried a curse of extraordinary power, to contain it is all we can hope for; I have trapped the curse in one hand for the time being – '

Dumbledore held his burned hand in front of his face, and examined it. He looked mildly interested. 'You have done very well, Severus. How long do you think I have?'

Luna was surprised by the fact that Dumbledore did not at all appear distressed over the fact he might die soon. His tone was rather conversational, actually.

Severus hesitated for a moment, then said, 'I cannot tell. Maybe a year. There is no halting such a spell forever. It will spread, eventually, it is the sort of curse that strengthens over time.'

Dumbledore smiled, not at all concerned by this. 'I am fortunate, extremely fortunate, that I have you, Severus.'

'If you had only summoned me a little earlier, I might have been able to do more, buy you more time!' said Severus angrily. He glanced over at the ring and the sword. 'Did you think that breaking the ring would break the curse?'

'Something like that … I was delirious, no doubt …' With an effort, Dumbledore sat up straight. 'Well, really, this makes matters much more straightforward.' Severus looked stunned. Dumbledore merely smiled. 'I refer to the plan Lord Voldemort is revolving around me. His plan is to have the poor Malfoy boy murder me.'

Severus sat down into one of the chairs in front of the desk. He appeared as though he might say something, but Dumbledore held up his hand to stop him.

Scowling, Severus said, 'The Dark Lord does not expect Draco to succeed. This is merely punishment for Lucius' recent failures. Slow torture for Draco's parents, while they watch him fail and pay the price.'

'In short, they boy has had a death sentence pronounced upon him as surely as I have. Now, I should have thought the natural successor to the job, once Draco fails, is yourself?'

Severus was quiet for a moment, then, 'That, I think, is the Dark Lord's plan.'

'Lord Voldemort foresees a moment in the near future when he will not need a spy at Hogwarts?'

'He believes the school will soon be in his grasp, yes.'

'And if it does fall into his grasp,' said Dumbledore lightly, 'I have your word that you will do all in your power to protect the students of Hogwarts?'

Severus nodded, stiffly.

'Good. Now then. Your first priority will be to discover what Draco is up to. A frightened teenage boy is a danger to others as well as to himself. Offer him help and guidance, he ought to accept, he likes you –'

' – much less since his father has lost favour. Draco blames me, he thinks I have usurped Lucius' position.'

'All the same, try. I am concerned less for myself than for accidental victims of whatever schemes might occur to the boy. Ultimately, of course, there is only one thing to be done if we are to save him from Lord Voldemort's wrath.'

Severus raised one eyebrow. 'Are you intending to let him kill you?'

'Certainly not. _You _must kill me.'

There was a long silence. It was only broken when Dumbledore's bird made an odd clicking noise. Luna found herself distracted by it for several seconds.

'Would you like me to do it now?' asked Severus sarcastically. 'Or would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?'

'Oh, not quite yet,' said Dumbledore, still smiling. 'I daresay the moment will present itself in due course. Given what has happened tonight,' he held up his blackened hand, 'we can be sure that it will happen within a year.'

'If you don't mind dying, why not let Draco do it?' asked Severus, brusquely.

'That boy's soul is not yet so damaged. I would not have it ripped apart on my account.'

'And my soul, Dumbledore? Mine?'

Luna flinched at the raw emotion in Severus' voice.

'You alone know whether it will harm your soul to help an old man avoid pain and humiliation,' said Dumbledore. 'I ask this one, great favour of you, Severus, because death is coming for me as surely as the Chudley Cannons will finish bottom of this year's league. I confess I should prefer a quick, painless exit to the protracted and messy affair it will be if, for instance, Greyback is involved – I hear Voldemort has recruited him? Or dear Bellatrix, who likes to play with her food before she eats it.'

Dumbledore sounded light, but all the while, he was piercing Severus with his blue eyes. At long last Severus nodded.

Dumbledore appeared satisfied. 'Thank you, Severus …'

And with that, Luna felt a pulling sensation all around her. Moments later, she once again became aware of her sore knees on the hard forest ground, and she pulled her face out of the Pensieve. She had to blink a few times before she regained some of her orientation. Severus was standing in front of her, looking old and worn.

'Severus, I – '

But he held up his hand to silence her. 'That is not all,' he said, slowly, as though the very words were causing him pain. 'There is one more thing … something that I still need to tell Potter. Something that I neglected to show him up until now.'

Severus once again put his wand to his temple, and withdrew one last memory. He gently guided it into the Pensieve, and then nodded for Luna to delve into his memories once again. She took a breath and plunged forward.

She reappeared in Dumbledore's office. A glance through a window showed her that it was night. Severus sat perched on a chair. He was quite still. Dumbledore, however, was pacing.

'Harry must not know, not until the last moment, not until it is necessary, otherwise how could he have the strength to do what must be done?'

'But what must he do?' asked Severus.

'That is between Harry and me. Now, listen closely, Severus. There will come a time – after my death – do not argue, do not interrupt! There will come a time when Lord Voldemort will seem to fear for the life of his snake.'

Severus looked surprised. 'For Nagini?'

'Precisely,' said Dumbledore. 'If there comes a time when Lord Voldemort stops sending that snake forth to do his bidding, but keeps it safe beside him, under magical protection, then, I think, it will be safe to tell Harry.'

'Tell him what?'

Dumbledore drew a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He appeared as though he was preparing himself for the worst. 'Tell him that on the night Lord Voldemort tried to kill him, when Lily cast her own life between them as a shield, the Killing Curse rebounded upon Lord Voldemort, and a fragment of Voldemort's soul was blasted apart from the whole, and latched itself onto the only living soul left in that collapsing building. Part of Lord Voldemort lives inside Harry, and it is that which gives him the power of speech with snakes, and a connection with Lord Voldemort's mind that he has never understood. And while that fragment of soul, unmissed by Voldemort, remains attached to, and protected by Harry, Lord Voldemort cannot die.'

Luna drew breath sharply. After all the things they'd been through … after all the times Harry had faced Voldemort and had come out of it alive and the stronger … after all those things, Harry would still have to die? It was almost too cruel to be true.

'So the boy … the boy must die?' asked Severus. He sounded quite calm.

'And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential.'

There was a long silence. Severus finally broke it by saying, 'I thought … all these years … that we were protecting him for her. For Lily.'

'We have protected him because it has been essential to teach him, to raise him, to let him try his strength,' said Dumbledore. Luna noticed his eyes were still closed. 'Meanwhile, the connection between them grows ever stronger, a parasitic growth: sometimes I have thought he suspects it himself. If I know him, he will have arranged matters so that when he does set out to meet his death, it will, truly, mean the end of Voldemort.'

Dumbledore finally opened his eyes, slowly. Severus looked completely mortified –and Luna felt much the same.

'You have kept him alive so that he can die at the right moment?'

'Don't be shocked, Severus,' said Dumbledore, in that tone Luna knew was meant to hurt. 'How many men and women have you watched die?'

'Lately, only those whom I could not save.' Severus stood up abruptly. 'You have used me.'

'Meaning?' Dumbledore looked only vaguely interested.

'I have spied for you, and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter's son safe. Now you tell me that you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter –'

And as Severus began to lose control, Luna once again felt the subtle sensation of being pulled out of a memory. She once again surfaced from the Pensieve, though she was rather less in control of her emotions this time around. As her eyes met Severus', she felt a tear slide down. Severus visibly slumped.

'Is there no other way?' she asked.

Severus shook his head. 'Not that I'm aware of,' he said gravely. 'I have done extensive research, but I have yet to find anything that will enable us to extract the piece of the Dark Lord's soul without harming Potter. And, of course, it is a singular case, which makes it all the harder …'

'I'm sure there is something to be done,' she said, getting up. Her knees hurt from their prolonged contact with the cold ground. 'It doesn't have to be this way.'

Severus abruptly turned to face her. 'But it does!' he snapped, his eyes flaming. 'You heard what the old fool said! It is essential that the Dark Lord kills him personally!'

Luna did not take her eyes off Severus. 'Dumbledore may be mistaken.'

'Even so, I do not see another way of solving this!'

Luna went over to Severus, and gently laid a hand on his arm. He looked displeased, but did not shrug her off.

'We _will _find a way,' she said, and she was proud of the conviction in her voice.

Severus remained tense. 'There is also another matter. Dumbledore told me that Potter needs Gryffindor's sword, and that needs to be retrieved under circumstances of courage, needs and valour …'

'Well, I think the need is taken care of,' said Luna, thinking. 'After all, Harry clearly needs it if Dumbledore says so. As for courage and valour – it takes a lot to forgive someone, and even more to admit you were wrong. Harry has done both of these things. He has shown more courage than he ever has before – even when he was fighting You-Know-Who.'

Severus looked up at her. 'Do you truly think that will work?'

Luna nodded. 'Yes, truly. Now, I think we had better go inside. We could all do with some rest. Can't have the Wrackspurts sneaking up on us in our sleep-deprived state.'

Severus frowned, but followed her inside nevertheless.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter six_

Days passed, and Snape watched as Potter grew stronger every day, while in the other bed Ollivander grew more and more ill.

Snape and Luna had long since recognised the looks Potter and Granger gave one another when they thought no one was looking – and they had witnessed the quiet chats that the two tended to have several times. It was clear that the two were on a mission, and Luna and Snape knew that they could not stay much longer. Once Potter was healthy again, they would merely be a burden.

And thus came the day when Snape finally gathered his courage, retrieved the sword or Gryffindor, and went up to Potter.

'Potter – ' he began.

' – Harry,' the boy corrected him.

'Harry, a word, if you please.'

'Speak freely,' said Potter, shrugging.

'I would prefer to keep this private,' said Snape.

'I trust everyone here,' said the foolish boy. 'They can all hear what you've got to say.'

'It's not a matter of trust, Pot- Harry. This is for your own sake.'

Potter was quiet for several moments, then, at long last, he nodded. Snape gestured for the boy to follow him outside, and Potter obliged, after stopping to pull on a coat. Snape brought them to several semi-comfortable rocks and sat down on top of one of them. Potter followed his example.

'First, there is something that I need to give to you. Something that I think you will have been looking for, and something that is absolutely essential to the success of your mission, whatever that may be.'

Potter looked intrigued and confused at the same time. When Snape produced the sword of Gryffindor, his eyes lit up.

'How did you know?' he exclaimed, taking the sword from Snape and examining it with delight.

'I was told by Dumbledore that it was of the utmost importance that you received this.'

Potter's features darkened. 'Well, he was right about that one thing,' the boy muttered. He then looked up at Snape again, mildly curious. 'But wasn't it supposed to be retrieved under circumstances of valour and need?'

'I discussed this with Luna' (Snape noticed Potter looked up at his use of her first name) 'and she thinks that the need is accounted for.'

'Well, I suppose I agree with that,' said Potter, thoughtfully. 'But what about the valour? And the courage?'

'She thinks that it requires a lot of courage to forgive someone,' Snape said shortly.

A look of comprehension dawned on Potter's face, and he did not press the matter. Snape was glad for it.

'All right then. But you could've told this to the others too, right? Why can't they know about it?'

'They can know about this,' said Snape, mildly. 'However, there is another matter I will need to address. Something I haven't told you before – because I didn't think you would benefit from it in your weakened state. I still do not wish to tell you, and it is probably too early, but if something happens to me before I show you this …'

Potter was looking more confused by the second, and Snape could hardly blame him. He once again produced the Pensieve, the memory he had shown Luna already inside. He gestured for Potter to dive in, and the boy followed his instructions blindly.

Severus watched the Pensieve, trying hard not to think about what would happen mere minutes from now. How well would Potter handle the news he'd have to die? He would be devastated, no doubt – Snape would have been devastated, had he been in the boy's position. What if Potter refused to go on anymore? What if he refused to sacrifice himself? However was he supposed to talk the boy into dying?

He once again cursed Dumbledore for leaving him this impossible task.

Before his eyes, the boy tumbled back out of the Pensieve. Potter's cheeks were wet: he was crying.

'I'm sorry,' said Snape, because there was nothing else to say.

Another tear slid down Potter's cheek. 'It's not fair,' the boy said.

Snape nodded in quiet agreement.

A silence fell over them. Potter broke it at last by saying, 'I don't suppose I've got much of a choice.' His voice sounded rather strangled.

'There is always a choice,' said Snape, slowly. 'However, I think that we agree that it would be in the best interest of the wizarding world as a whole, if you … well.'

Potter nodded slowly. 'I know. I know I've got to do it – but knowing is so much easier than accepting, so much easier than really doing it.'

'You don not have to do it immediately,' said Snape. 'I am sure a moment will present itself in due course. And when it does, you will be ready.'

Snape did not tell the boy that Luna hoped to find a way out of this dreadful tangle – if all failed, he would have given Potter false hope and the boy would be left feeling worse still.

'I … would you mind … can I …'

Snape stood up. 'Yes. I will see you inside in a moment.'

And with that, he strode off in the direction of the tent, his legs feeling like lead. Potter had taken the new information better than he'd expected, but still, this would by no means be something easy to deal with ...

About half an hour passed, in which Snape sat in a kitchen chair, staring blankly ahead as Granger cooked dinner and Luna sat talking with Ollivander. Granger alternated between shooting him concerned glances and looking at the opening of the tent – however, Snape did not supply her with any information. Anything he had to say would have made things worse, anyway.

Then, the tent flap was pulled aside, and Potter appeared. Though his eyes were still red-rimmed, his cheeks were dry. Granger looked up, and her expression immediately changed into one of alarm.

'Harry, what's –'

'Not now, Hermione,' he said, stepping into the kitchen.

'But –'

'I said, not now,' he repeated, sternly. 'I will tell you in due time.'

Granger gave a slow nod, and reluctantly went back to her cooking.

Harry sat down across the table from Snape. He looked at him intently. 'You don't know the precise nature of our task, do you?' he asked, frankly.

'No,' admitted Snape.

'Well then,' said Harry, and he turned around in his chair. 'Hermione, Luna, Mr Ollivander … if you would please join us? I think the time has come to clear up some matters.'

Granger looked concerned. 'Are you sure about this?'

Potter nodded firmly. 'Yes. They deserve to know. They might even be able to help us.'

Luna and Ollivander had come over, the latter supported by the first. Each of them sat down on a kitchen chair, and Potter looked around at the group seriously.

'Is there something you want to tell us, Harry?' prompted Luna.

Potter swallowed thickly, then nodded. 'Yes. I think it's time for you to know what Hermione and I have been up to. Truth be told, we're on a mission from Dumbledore. Only, so far, it hasn't exactly gone smoothly. You see, the things we're after are You-Know-Who's Horcruxes.'

Snape could barely keep himself from showing too much of his surprise outwardly. Ollivander and Luna, however, merely looked puzzled.

'The Dark Lord created a Horcrux?' he asked.

'Horcruxes. He created more than one,' said Potter solemnly.

'More than … how many?'

'Six, in all. Or, well, seven, now.'

Hermione looked at Potter confusedly. The boy chose to ignore it for the time being.

'Seven?' Snape nearly knocked a nearby mug onto the floor. Only Luna's quick reaction prevented it from shattering.

'Can anyone explain what a Horcrux is?' Luna asked, looking around at the gathering as she replaced the mug.

'A Horcrux …' Snape began. 'A Horcrux is a piece of soul hidden in an object. Its purpose is to allow its owner's soul to survive, even if their body is destroyed.'

'How does that even work?' asked Luna.

Snape pinched the bridge of the nose. 'There are ... old books ... _dark _books ... and a spell ...'

'To create a Horcrux,' Hermione said quietly, 'you have to commit the most contemptible deed. Murder rips the soul apart.'

'Indeed, Miss Granger.'

Ollivander looked pale. 'The Dark Lord ripped his soul apart?'

'So he did,' confirmed Potter. 'And we're trying to destroy the pieces.'

'Only it's not coming along very well,' said Granger, sadly. 'We have nothing to destroy the Horcruxes with.'

At that, Potter brightened slightly. 'We do now,' he said, producing the sword.

Granger's eyes nearly popped out of her head. 'What? How?'

'The sword was in my possession,' Snape clarified. 'I thought it fit to give it to you.'

Granger took the sword from Potter, tears once again present in her eyes. 'Harry,' she said, abruptly, turning to Potter. 'I think we should get rid of it at once.'

Potter nodded solemnly. 'Yes, I think that would be best.'

Granger reached around her neck and unclasped a chain Snape had not noticed until now. She then pulled something that looked a rather lot like a locket from her shirt.

'What is that?' he inquired sharply.

'It's a Horcrux,' said Potter simply. 'It was once Salazar Slytherin's locket.'

'And you have been carrying that with you the whole time?'

Potter looked confused. 'Well, yes.'

Well, that did explain the haggardness and tiredness of the two. Of all the foolish things … 'Why ever did you do such a thing?'

'We had nowhere safe to put it,' Granger explained. 'We could not risk it getting stolen.' She looked at the locket, and could not suppress a shudder of disgust. 'It's a horrible thing,' she said, quietly. 'It drains you. Fills you with thoughts you would not normally have.'

'Well, I am not surprised,' said Snape sternly. 'You were extremely foolish to wear it on you. Count yourselves lucky nothing serious happened.'

Potter and Granger exchanged an uncomfortable and sad look. Snape suddenly realised that the locket must have been one of the factors that had contributed to Weasley's departure. The boy had probably been affected by it even more than Granger and Potter had been.

'Well,' said Potter, uncomfortably. 'Let's get rid of it.'

'Yes,' agreed Snape, 'but we should take it outside.'

'If you don't mind,' Ollivander said weakly, 'I think I'll stay in here.'

Potter, Granger, Luna and he went outside. Potter put the locket down on top of one of the flat rocks on which they had sat earlier. The rest of the group gathered around it. Potter took the sword and lifted it above his head. His arms were trembling.

'Stop!' commanded Snape, just as Potter was about to lower the sword. 'I don't think you should do this.'

Potter looked confused. 'Why not?'

'A week ago, you were dying. If this is truly a piece of the Dark Lord's soul, it will not go quietly. I shall destroy the locket in your stead – my bodily condition is rather better than yours.'

He stepped forward to take the sword. However, Luna appeared to have other ideas.

'No,' she said, taking a step in Snape's direction. 'Your physical state may be better than his – your mental state is not. I should be the one to destroy the locket – I will be the least affected by it.'

'Luna, you can't –' he began to protest.

'No, Severus,' she said calmly, 'you know I'm right. Now hand me the sword, Harry.'

Potter reluctantly gave the sword to Luna. Snape decided to let her have her way, but he stayed close by. Luna lifted the sword – her arms shook with the effort.

'Wait!' said Potter. Luna lowered the sword again. 'Maybe I can open the locket.'

'How?' bit Snape.

'By using Parseltongue. That's the one thing we haven't really tried.'

Granger looked thoughtful. 'You know, Harry, that might just work.'

Potter nodded and looked at Luna. 'Are you ready? As soon as I say the word, the locket will open. If all goes well, that is.'

'I'm ready.' Luna brought the sword up again. Potter stared at the Horcrux, concentrated, then opened his mouth. A weird hissing noise came out. The locket sprang open.

Two terrible eyes lay proudly within the case. The eyes were blinking – they were a dark brown colour. For several moments, all of them just stared at the eyes, the meaning of what they were seeing not yet occurring to them.

Then, the locket spoke. _'I know what you fear.'_

Luna stared at it, intrigued. Granger and Potter looked mesmerized.

'Destroy it!' ordered Snape. However, Luna did not move.

'_I know you're thinking of your father, rotting away in Azkaban … Here you all are, band of outcasts, supposed heroes – and no one is willing to extend a hand to you … And your father grows weaker every day …'_

Potter looked pale as he said 'Stab it, Luna. Get it over with!'

Still Luna did not act. Snape noted that she did not look afraid or alarmed, but rather curious. He did not know whether to be glad about this or not.

Smoke issued from the eyes inside the locket, and after a few moments, it formed the outline of a man. As they watched, the figure became more and more recognisable – it did not take Snape long to identify the figure as Xenophilius Lovegood, the man he'd had one or two chance meetings with.

Still Luna was staring, mesmerized.

The ghastly replica of Xenophilius Lovegood opened his mouth. _'Luna, please,' _it said in icy tones. _'Save me … these people are not your friends. How can they be when they desert you in times of need? Traitors, they are, and they will only act for their own good. Abandon them, while you can! Luna, think of me … I'm dying, Luna, I'm –'_

Then there was a flash – Luna had stabbed straight into the heart of the locket. There was a blood-curdling scream, and slowly, the locket began to melt away.

Luna kicked the remains of the Horcrux aside.

The various members of the group visibly slumped in relief and release of tension. Snape met Luna's eyes, and a look of understanding passed between them.

'Harry,' he addressed the boy, the name sounding strange on his tongue. 'I think it is time that we should leave. And by we, I mean Luna, Mr Ollivander and I.'

Potter looked pained. 'Do you have to? I mean, we could travel together for a while, and –'

'Harry,' said Granger, laying a hand on Potter's arm. 'Professor Snape is right. This is our mission: we have to go it alone.'

'Not alone,' corrected Luna. 'We're always here if you need help.'

Potter looked from Granger to Luna to Snape. At long last he said, 'Well … I suppose you are right. When will you be leaving?'

'Now,' said Snape, without pause.

Potter looked confused. 'Now? Won't you stay another few days or so?'

'No, I do not think that would be wise,' said Snape. 'We both have our separate missions to take care of.'

Luna glanced briefly at him at the mention of a possible mission, but she did not press the matter.

Potter nodded reluctantly. 'All right then. I'll help you pack.'

'I'll go help Mr Ollivander,' said Luna cheerfully.

* * *

A little less than an hour later, they were all packed and ready to go. Luna had wrapped Ollivander in the thickest clothes she'd been able to find, and had adorned the old man with scarves and hats and mittens. Despite that, the wandmaker still looked terribly cold.

Potter and Granger looked sad to see them go. Potter was resigned as he hugged Luna goodbye, and extended his hand to both Snape and Ollivander. 'Sorry,' he said, as he shook Snape's hand. 'For everything, I mean.'

'Do not let it bother you, Potter,' said Snape brusquely.

'Harry,' the boy corrected, the beginnings of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

After Luna had given Granger a last farewell hug, Snape grabbed both Ollivander and Luna, and held on to them tightly as he concentrated on Disapparating. The last things he saw were Potter and Granger's faces, one sad, resigned, the other tired and old.

He vowed to do everything in his power to change Potter's fate.

They reappeared in another quiet forest. Snape released both Luna and Ollivander, and began to walk in circles around the pair, casting the usual spells. By the time he had finished, Luna had succeeded in setting up their tent.

Luna fixed them all a cup of coffee while Ollivander went about taking off the various scarves. They all sat down at the rickety kitchen table to drink the coffee she had made. Snape tried not to winch – compared to the coffee at Hogwarts, this was rather bad indeed. However, it was all they had, and he would do well not to downgrade it.

Luna looked at him interestedly, her bulging eyes wide.

'What is it?' he inquired.

'You spoke of a mission,' she said, calmly. 'What mission would that be?'

Snape sighed, and lowered his cup.

'As you know, but as Ollivander is not yet aware, Harry Potter has to die in order to destroy the Dark Lord.'

'Die?' asked Ollivander weakly. 'Why?'

'On the night the Dark Lord attacked Harry Potter for the first time he was badly injured. When this happened, a piece of his soul latched itself onto Potter. As such, while Potter is alive, the Dark Lord cannot truly die.'

'And so Harry Potter must be killed?'

'That is what Dumbledore believed,' said Snape slowly. 'He thought it essential that the Dark Lord murder the boy himself.' He paused, and looked around at the other two. 'However, I do not agree. I think we should do everything in our power to ensure that Potter lives.'

Luna nodded firmly. 'He deserves to live. He's a good person.'

'How do you plan on going about this?' asked Ollivander.

'I will need to consult books,' said Snape, frowning.

'That might be a problem,' said Ollivander.

'Yes … I do not think it would be wise to enter Hogwarts, given the circumstances …' Snape tried very hard not to think of the mess the Carrows might be making right now – all because he'd left. 'However,' he continued, 'if I remember correctly, the Blacks have quite a vast library.'

'The Blacks?' inquired Luna.

'Yes – the last Black died not too long ago,' said Snape, trying not too dwell too much on the subject of Sirius Black. 'But Harry Potter inherited all the belongings.'

'I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you used his library,' said Luna, reasonably.

'The only thing is, I am not certain I will be able to enter.'

'How so?' asked Luna.

'There were wards set up against me and the Death Eaters by Moody,' he said gravely. 'I know that the Dark Lord is not interested in the Black estate and has let it be, however, we will have to watch out for any traps.'

'Well …' said Luna, slowly. 'I suppose there is no other option. I'll go with you.'

Snape nodded. 'We ought to leave immediately. Time is scarce for Potter.'

As he and Luna prepared to leave, Ollivander returned to his usual spot on the bed, saying that he was feeling rather tired. Snape did not miss the expression of concern that passed over Luna's face. He could not say he thought the emotion unfounded.

Once outside, Snape took a firm hold of Luna's arm, then turned on the spot and guided them into darkness. The familiar wave of darkness and nausea flooded over him – then it was all over, and they found themselves outside Grimmauld Place.

'Well, let us not waste anymore time,' said Snape, and he headed straight for the house. Luna, however, did not follow. He turned around, frustratedly. 'What are you waiting for?'

'I can't see what you're headed toward,' she explained, calmly.

Snape tried not to flinch at his own stupidity. Of course she couldn't – she hadn't been made aware of the location of the house. And he himself would not be able to tell her, thanks to Moody.

'Do you still have that coin on you?' asked Snape.

'Yes.'

'Then ask Potter if we can use his library, and if yes, tell him to give you the location of the house.'

He watched as Luna pulled out the Galleon and discreetly used her wand to send a message. After a few moments, a reply appeared. When Luna had finished reading, she looked up, and her eyes widened slightly.

'Oh, there it is!' she said, enthusiastically.

Not willing to waste any more time, Snape grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her along toward the house. They went up the few steps and opened the door. Snape was surprised at the easiness with which they could get in – he suspected a booby trap any second.

He was proven correct.

'_Severus Snape_?' asked a voice from nowhere. Snape recognised it as Mad-Eye Moody's. He felt his tongue curl backwards, and the next moment, he was rendered incapable of speaking. Meanwhile, the voice was still waiting for an answer.

Luna was gazing up at him, unperturbed. Snape tried to speak, but he found that he still could not.

'What is it?' asked the girl. Ah, so she _could _speak. He pointed furiously at his throat, then at the empty hallway.

'_Severus Snape?_' asked the voice again, more pressing this time. It was only a matter of moments before something would happen again. Snape pointed to the hallway, then made as if to slit his throat.

'Oh!' said Luna, realisation dawning. 'Snape is not here.'

The next moment, something began to shift in the shadows at the end of the hall. A figure rose up from the carpet, enormous and terrifying. A grey, undead version of Dumbledore was heading toward them, its eyes sunken and its skin fleshless.

Snape pulled urgently on Luna's sleeve. 'I didn't kill you,' the girl said, understanding the hint. On the word 'kill' the horrible, undead replica exploded in an enormous cloud of dust, that left Luna coughing, and would have had Snape doing the same, if only his tongue wasn't blocking the action.

He once again seized Luna's sleeve and pulled her down the stairs to the kitchen. There, he conjured a piece of paper and a quill, and wrote the (unfortunately verbal) spell that would enable him to speak again. Luna studied it for several moments, then pointed her wand at his throat and repeated the incantation.

The effect was immediate: Snape felt his tongue uncurl, and he could breathe more freely again.

'Thank you,' he said. 'Now, we should go to the library.'

They went back up the stairs, and up another flight of stairs, before Snape finally found the room he knew to be the library. He had only been inside it once or twice, and all he really remembered about it was that it was a vast space.

Luna still looked a bit pale, but Snape could not blame her: he felt rather shaken by the encounter with the undead Dumbledore himself. However, there was no time to dwell on such matters. There was no telling what other booby traps awaited them, or who might be watching the house even now.

Snape walked up to one of the bookcases. 'Look for books on Dark Magic,' he told Luna. 'Those should not be very hard to find, given our present location.'

Together they went past the shelves, pulling out the books that might hold valuable information, shrinking them and putting them inside a bag. After half an hour or so, they had retrieved every book that seemed as though it might have something to offer them. Quietly they left the library, went down the stairs with the horrible shrunken heads of house-elves past, and exited the house through the front door. Snape decided to Disapparate straight from the front door step.

They reappeared in the clearing in which they'd set up their tent. After undoing the protective spells so that they could enter, Snape became aware of a harsh coughing from inside the tent. Luna gave him one brief look, then hurried inside. Snape remained outside to put the enchantments back up. After he'd finished, he entered the tent.

Luna was sitting at Ollivander's bedside, pressing a handkerchief to his mouth. Snape noted with some alarm that it was stained with blood. Ollivander himself was bent over, sounding like he was coughing his insides out.

'We need to take you to St Mungo's, Mr Ollivander,' said Luna when Ollivander had finally ceased to cough. She put a glass filled with water to the old man's lips, and he drank eagerly.

'Ah, child,' he rasped, when he had finished drinking. 'You and I both know that You-Know-Who would come to collect me within minutes …'

'Still, we should get you looked at.'

Snape observed the expression on Ollivander's face as he looked at Luna. He became acutely aware that both he and Ollivander knew what would inevitably happen – Luna, however, had not yet wanted to accept it.

'Child …' began Ollivander softly, taking Luna's hand. 'I am an old man. I haven't been well for a long time.'

'But you can get better,' Luna said.

Ollivander smiled sadly and shook his head. 'Sometimes, people are just broken beyond repair.'

'But it's not too late yet,' insisted Luna.

Snape watched the situation in mild surprise. Luna, when it came to matters like these, tended to be rather down to earth. She was more willing to accept the harsh truths of life than most. However, it was clear that painful situations were harder to accept when they were actually happening. Luna did not want to let go of Ollivander yet.

'Luna,' Ollivander continued, gently. 'Sometimes, you just know your time is coming. I know my time is coming, and I am not afraid. I have lived a long and a good life, and now it's getting time for me to move on.' A tear had rolled down Luna's cheek: Ollivander wiped it away with his thumb. 'Don't cry,' he said.

Luna sniffed a bit, but ceased to cry. Ollivander pulled her into a hug, and she clung on to him like a drowning man to a straw.

Snape felt oddly as though he was intruding upon a private moment, and as such, he tactfully returned outside. He only entered the tent again when he heard the sound of pans being moved. By then, Ollivander had fallen asleep and every trace of crying was gone from Luna's face.

When Snape approached her, she smiled and the day seemed a little brighter.

* * *

Hours began to blend into days, which, in turn, started to blend into weeks. Snape had sought after a solution for the 'Potter Problem', but none had yet presented itself. He had perused every single book on Dark Magic that the Black library had had to offer them, and he still hadn't found what he was looking for. After weeks of encountering difficult books, Snape's mood had changed for the worse. There were only so many defiant books one could deal with.

Several painful instances he remembered very clearly. There had been a book that had screamed when Snape had opened it, causing Ollivander to wake and fall out of bed in surprise. That had earned him a lecture from Luna and an explanation on the parallels between him and Blibbering Humdingers.

Another book had tried to bite his fingers off when he turned a page. The book, luckily, had not been very quick, and as such it had only succeeded in taking a small bite out of Snape's little finger. He'd sown it back on using magic, but he feared that particular piece of flesh would forever be numb.

One of the books had also given cause to be glad that Snape always cast some basic revealing spells before opening any book – the pages had proven to be poisonous, and Snape had been forced to take the book outside, wear gloves and use the Bubblehead charm before he could even open the thing.

And still, after all his troubles, not a single word that might help to solve this problem. Certainly, there were mentions of Horcruxes, and one of the books even gave specific instructions on how to create one, but none of them went into detail about _destroying _Horcruxes, and they certainly didn't discuss using a living being as a case for a Horcrux.

And, on one of those long evenings spent looking through books, just after he'd nearly lost a piece of his finger for the second time, Snape had had enough. He slammed the biting book shut and threw it into a corner. Two pairs of eyes looked up at the commotion: Luna and Ollivander had just been discussing wandlore.

'What's wrong, Severus?' Luna asked, not unkindly.

'I have been through every single one of these books,' he replied, waving at the enormous stacks, 'and there is not a word on anything that might even be vaguely related to discovering the solution to this problem.'

There was a silence. Just when Snape thought no one was going to reply, Ollivander opened his mouth. 'You're going about this the wrong way, son.'

'Am I, now?' asked Snape, standing up. He could feel his blood begin to boil. 'And, pray tell, do you have a better solution? Because you are more than free to find the answer while I take a turn lying back!'

'Severus,' berated Luna quietly. He forced himself to calm slightly at her words.

'To be truthful, there _is _something that might work,' said Ollivander softly.

Snape's eyes widened. 'What? You knew a solution to this problem and yet you did not tell us?'

'I could not … That is to say, I did not remember until just now …' Luna gave the old man an encouraging smile, and he went on, shakily. 'You're focusing too much on keeping Harry Potter alive.'

'Well yes, that's the general idea, isn't it?' Snape shot back.

'What I mean is: you should focus on bringing him back after he's died,' said the old man quietly.

'Those rituals are highly dangerous and unpredictable,' said Snape, moving his hand as if to discard the idea.

'Not the ritual I'm talking about,' continued Ollivander. 'I have seen it performed before my very eyes. I have seen the dead come to life.'

'And what ritual might that be?' inquired Snape.

'I do not know its name,' admitted Ollivander. 'However, I do know the name of the book that depicts it.'

'Relieve us.'

'_Moste Darke Arts_, it is called,' said Ollivander, looking away. Luna looked unfazed: Snape, however, felt his breath catch in his throat.

'Are you certain that is the one?'

'Ah, you are familiar with the book,' said Ollivander, looking up and piercing Snape with the intensity of his stare.

'Yes. The book you are referring to is very old, and very dangerous, and the same goes for the ritual. It would not be wise to perform it.'

'But it would work,' insisted Ollivander. 'The ritual would work.'

'It would,' agreed Snape. 'But certainly you are aware of the price of the ritual? I doubt anyone would be prepared to sacrifice that, Ollivander.'

'There is always someone,' said the wandmaker quietly, and in that moment, a look of understanding passed between both men.

Luna looked confused. 'What sacrifice?'

'I shall tell you some other time,' said Snape, shortly. 'For now it's important that we retrieve the book. Copies are scarce, but I know the whereabouts of one.'

'Really?' asked Luna with bright enthusiasm.

Snape nodded solemnly. 'However, getting it will not be easy. The only copy I am aware of currently resides in the restricted section of the Hogwarts library, and as you well know, we are not welcome guests at the castle. As a matter of fact, should we be caught, it will most certainly mean our death.'

'This is not a choice,' said Ollivander sternly. 'Should we fail to retrieve the book, Harry Potter will almost certainly die, be it at the hand of You-Know-Who or otherwise.'

'And besides, we can borrow some things to help us,' said Luna brightly. 'If I recall correctly, Harry is in possession of both a Cloak of Invisibility and a map of the castle that shows all its inhabitants.'

'Ah!' exclaimed Snape. 'I knew that damned piece of parchment was more than a trick from a joke shop.'

'I'll send Hermione a message right now,' said Luna. 'And I'll ask her whether she and Harry can deliver the things we need.'

Half an hour later, Potter and Granger were seated at their rickety kitchen table.

'It's suicide,' concluded Potter, staring open-mouthedly at Snape, Luna and Ollivander.

'Well, with the help of your, ahem, _attributes_ we are hoping to make it out alive,' said Snape soberly. 'And it is a risk we are willing to take. We need this book.'

'But what do you need it for?' asked Granger once again. 'Perhaps there's a substitute somewhere, and then you won't have to go to Hogwarts.'

'There is no substitute for this book, Miss Granger,' said Snape sternly. 'We tried everything else first, but nothing worked. The book is the only thing that will be able to help us.'

'Help you do what?' inquired Potter.

'All in time, Harry.' At Potter's frustrated look, he added, 'I am not like Professor Dumbledore. I _will _share with you what I know. However, at this time, I do not want to give you false hope. Once things are a bit more certain and we know that this particular thing we have in mind will work, then we will tell you. I am keeping it from you to spare you pain, Potter.'

Harry gazed at Snape for a few moments, then nodded slowly. 'It's true you have always tried to do what is best for me,' the boy said hesitantly. 'And I trust you.'

'Thank you, Pot – Harry.'

Potter took a pouch from inside his clothes and removed it from his neck. Then he carefully opened it. Just when Snape was about to question Potter's carefulness, he noticed that the purse was in fact a mokeskin pouch. Clever, if slightly difficult to handle.

Potter first removed a piece of cloth that shimmered oddly in the light, and put it down on the table. Snape could not help but pull it toward him and observe it more closely. The cloak really was a fine piece of work. Snape had never seen a Cloak of Invisibility that worked this well.

The second object Potter put down on the table was an old piece of parchment. Snape recognized it as the blasted thing that had once insulted him in Potter's third year, and that he'd tried, unsuccessfully, to take from the boy. Now that he knew it was actually a map of the castle, he wished he'd tried taking it a little harder.

'All right, I'll show you how to use the map,' said Potter, pulling the parchment toward him and producing his wand from inside his pocket. 'To access it, you tap it, and say "I swear that I am up to no good".'

As Potter tapped the map and spoke the words, ink began to well up from inside the parchment, and soon the base outlines of Hogwarts castle and the grounds surrounding it were visible. Everywhere inside the castle were tiny dots, accompanied by the name of the people they symbolized.

'So that is how you sneaked around unnoticed,' remarked Snape.

Luna looked at the map interestedly. 'That's very beautiful, Harry. Have you had it checked for Wrips?' At Potter's questioning glance, she said, 'They're little creatures that crawl into old ink and deform maps.'

'Eh, I think the map is fine, Luna,' said Potter, awkwardly. 'Anyway … Once you've finished, you'll need to tap the map again, and say "mischief managed".' They watched as Potter tapped the map and the ink disappeared again.

'That will be useful, Harry, thank you,' said Snape, taking both the Cloak and the map, and storing them away safely.

'There's one more thing, though,' said Luna, thoughtfully. 'If we can create a distraction far away from the library, our chances of succeeding will be greater.'

'We can hardly risk sending one of our own to create a diversion. And besides, I do not want to bring any more people than strictly necessary. That means you and me, Luna,' said Snape.

'I know,' said Luna, unfazed. 'But there are people inside the school who can help.'

Granger caught on first. 'The DA!' she exclaimed, leaning forward. 'That's a brilliant idea, Luna!'

Luna nodded. 'I'll contact Neville. If I know him, he'll still have his coin on him.'

Harry looked doubtful. 'But what if they get hurt?'

Luna looked at him seriously. 'Harry, everyone in the DA actually wants to be there. They know they may get hurt, but they don't mind, because what they're doing is right.'

Potter still looked reluctant, but nodded slowly.

Luna once again produced the coin, and used her wand to send a message. Granger, meanwhile, had stood up, obviously intending to go. Potter, however, still held his gaze fixed on Snape.

'Won't you tell me what is in the book?' the boy asked.

Snape sighed. 'I said no, Potter. Now get out before I lose my temper.'

Potter stood, reluctantly. Granger put her hand on his arm and urged him out. Luna waved the pair goodbye. Soon after the sound of Apparition was heard, and the three of them were left to their own devices once again.

'When do you want to go to Hogwarts?' asked Luna, breaking the silence.

Snape looked at her. 'Tonight.'

'Tonight?' repeated Luna, one of her eyebrows raised.

'Tonight,' confirmed Snape. 'The less time we waste, the better.'

Luna nodded, and finished her message. She held the coin in her hand as they waited for Neville to reply.

'Do you think this will work?' asked Luna, her bulging blue eyes impenetrable.

'I don't know,' admitted Snape. 'But it's the best option we've got. Better, anyway, than allowing the Dark Lord to kill Potter off without a second thought.'

'But it might work?'

'It might work.'

'Then that's good enough for me.' Luna looked down at her hand: Snape reasoned the coin had warmed. He watched her as she read the message. After she'd finished, she passed the coin to him. The metal still felt warm in his hands as he read the message.

_Distraction in dungeons, 12PM – Nev._

Short but effective. Snape turned the coin over mindlessly in his hand. The thing had more than proven its worth. He had to admit Granger had been quite clever to have come up with something so small, so easy, and yet so undetectable. The thing was perfect to communicate short messages and dates.

With some unease, he rubbed his left forearm. The Dark Mark stood out more and more clearly as the Dark Lord gained power. He felt it hurt, sometimes, whenever the Dark Lord was up to something. And, of course, there was the excruciating pain that came with every Summons. The pain normally disappeared after joining the meeting, but seeing as he was unable to do that, it lasted several hours – until whenever the meeting ended. Those hours were pure agony. There was no potion, no spell, that could ease the pain of the Dark Lord's Summons. Nor was there, as far as he was aware (and he was aware of many things) a way to get rid of the Dark Mark.

He felt eyes upon him, and when he looked up, he met Luna's calm gaze.

'Does it hurt?' she inquired.

'Sometimes,' he said, releasing his arm and handing the coin back to her. 'Not now. I was merely … I remembered because of that coin.'

'Well yes,' said Luna, as she put the coin away inside her pocket. 'The Dark Mark _is _what Hermione based it on. She simply preferred something less extreme than carving it into our members' flesh. And this is rather easier to hide, too,' she added, thoughtfully.

Snape looked away. The Dark Lord was cruel. One misstep, and he would forever bear the mark of that mistake. There was no forgiveness for those who carried the Mark, the blemish would never go, the shame and disgrace would forever be visible. He was marked: he was different.

As though she had read his thoughts, Luna asked, 'Will it ever disappear?'

'I don't know,' said Snape, for the second time. 'It may, though I don't think the odds are in my favour. Perhaps, if the Dark Lord is vanquished …'

'When,' corrected Luna.

'I have seen too much of the world to believe in when,' said Snape, harshly. 'Good does not always defeat bad.'

'But it does,' said Luna with conviction. 'Ultimately. As long as there is love, evil will never truly win. It can't last in the face of love.'

'You sound a lot like Dumbledore.'

'In some aspects he was right,' she said, still looking at Snape intently. 'In others, he was sorely mistaken. But then, we all are, sometimes. What matters is the intention.'

'I am not so certain about his intention, now,' said Snape, trying not too sound to bitter and failing miserably.

'Oh, I think his intention was good, once,' said Luna, graciously. 'But somewhere along the way he lost sight of what he was truly fighting for. Power corrupts, and even those who started out doing something good, sometimes forget what it is they should truly be doing. They think they are acting for the greater good, but there is no greater good, as such. The greater good should not cost individual people – it's wrong.'

Snape nodded, then decided it was time to change the topic. 'We still need to determine how we'll enter Hogwarts.'

'Oh, entering Hogwarts won't be a problem,' said Luna, brightly.

Snape looked up in surprise. 'What do you mean?'

'There is a secret passageway that connects the Room of Requirement to the Hog's Head.'

'The Hog's Head? That dirty pub? But why?'

'Well, you see, sometimes we had to hide out in the Room of Requirement, and, seeing as we were all hungry, the room provided a way for us to get food.'

'And Aberforth helped you?' asked Snape, remembering the other Dumbledore brother with some distaste.

'Oh yes, he's been very nice about it all.'

'Well, that's the problem solved, then. We'll simply Apparate into Hogsmeade tonight – '

'I'm afraid that won't be possible. There's a Caterwauling charm on the village. Neville told me a while ago.'

'A Caterwauling charm? And you've been communicating with Longbottom? Why?'

'Yes and yes. I wanted to make sure the DA was all right, and Neville, in turn, wanted to know that I was all right. I told him yes, and that's all I said.'

Snape nodded, reassured. 'Very well then, we shall have to Apparate while it's still light.'

Luna nodded. 'And, for security, I think we should Apparate just outside the village.'

'I agree.' Snape pulled the opening to the tent aside a bit further, and discovered that the sun was already beginning to set. 'We'd better hurry up.'

'I'll just go tell Ollivander goodbye, then I'll be ready.'

Snape collected their coats as he waited for Luna to wish the old man goodbye. Once she was finished, he led her outside, grasped her arm and Disapparated the both of them.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: **I apologize for the long wait. I had to tweak this chapter quite a bit to consider it good enough to be posted.

_Chapter seven_

They reappeared just outside Hogwarts. Snape threw the Cloak of Invisibility around Luna and him, and cast several additional Silencing and Disillusionment charms for good measure. They began walking toward the village. Snape had to bend over somewhat awkwardly to ensure that their feet remained hidden by the cloak, and as such they could not advance very quickly. Snape was grateful that hardly anyone dared to go outside these days: the streets were deserted and the chance of bumping into someone was considerably lower.

At long last they reached the Hog's Head. After a brief glance at Luna, Snape waved his wand and muttered '_Homenum revelio_'. The spell revealed that there was only one human inside the pub – Aberforth, probably. Snape cautiously pushed open the door.

Aberforth looked up in surprise as the door opened. Snape pulled the Cloak off him and the girl. Aberforth's eyes widened in recognition.

'You,' he said, as he saw Snape.

'I do not intend to harm you,' said Snape, quickly.

'I know,' said Aberforth, continuing to wipe a glass with a dirty rag, and looking a lot less disturbed than he should. 'I heard all about you. They say you rescued Lovegood and Ollivander from the Malfoy cellar, and that you're on the run for You-Know-Who now.'

'Something like that,' Snape muttered darkly.

Aberforth's eyes had fallen on Luna. 'Ah, so it's true then!' he said, putting down the glass and coming around the bar to inspect Luna more closely. 'How are you doing? I haven't seen you in a while, though I suppose that's logical.'

Luna beamed at the man. 'How are you?'

'All right, I suppose. Not many customers, but at least the Death Eaters tend to leave me alone …' His eyes passed from Luna to Snape. 'I suppose you're here to use the passageway, then?'

'Yes,' said Luna. 'But we would like to stay here for a bit, if you don't mind. You see, we don't actually want to enter until just before midnight.'

'The Caterwauling Charm?' Aberforth guessed, correctly.

'Yes,' Snape affirmed.

Aberforth nodded. 'Well, follow me to the backroom, then, no sense for the both of you to remain here in plain sight …'

They followed Aberforth up the stairs into an extra room. A fire was blazing in the hearth, and they gratefully sank down into the old but comfortable chairs.

'Do you want anything to drink?' inquired Aberforth.

Luna asked for a butterbeer for each of them, and Aberforth went downstairs to get the bottles.

Snape looked over at Luna. 'He treats you quite kindly.'

'He's been like that to all the students,' said Luna, easily. 'I don't think he agreed with Professor Dumbledore. That's what he's always muttering about, anyway. Endangering the students and things like that.'

A footstep on the chair signalled Aberforth's return. They both fell silent and accepted their butterbeers. Aberforth sank into one of the other chairs.

'So, what have you been doing out there?' he asked.

Snape and Luna looked at each other, before Luna said, 'Nothing, really.'

Aberforth shook his head. 'You don't fool me. You don't just disappear for weeks without a proper reason. And if I know him,' he indicated Snape with his head, 'he's always got a back-up plan.'

'I do not,' said Snape, dignified, 'and even if I did, I would not share it with you.'

'Ah yes,' grumbled Aberforth. 'I forgot you people don't trust me enough to share your information.'

'It's not a matter of trust,' said Snape. 'We can't tell anyone anything. Otherwise, the Dark Lord might force information out of that person.'

Aberforth nodded in reluctant assent. 'That's true. And it's also true I rather wouldn't get murdered over something I don't actually have anything to do with.'

They sat with Aberforth for a while longer, and, at eleven o'clock, Snape decided that it was time for them to leave for Hogwarts.

Aberforth stood, walked toward the painting of a young girl, and said, 'You know what to do.'

The girl walked further into the picture and out of sight. They waited for a few minutes, while Snape wondered what she had gone to do. At long last, the girl returned, and at her side was another person. As the pair got nearer, Snape recognised the second figure.

'Longbottom!' he barked, just as the portrait swung aside and Longbottom entered the room. The boy looked horrid: his face was bruised and covered with gashes, and he seemed thoroughly exhausted. His expression, however, was one of pure delight.

Longbottom flung himself at Luna first, embracing her so violently that she nearly tripped. Snape was moments away from seizing Longbottom in the neck and pulling him off the girl when he let go.

'Listen, Longbottom, there's no need to panic,' said Snape, even though Longbottom didn't look concerned in the least. 'I'm –'

'A hero! I know, sir. We were all so delighted when you rescued Luna! Astonished, but delighted. Though we're all wondering what exactly prompted your change of mind …'

Snape was too surprised to reply – something that did not happen to him very often. Luckily, Luna still had her wits about her. 'I'm certain Severus will explain to you later, Neville,' she said kindly. _As if_. 'For now, could you please take us into Hogwarts?'

Neville nodded enthusiastically, and climbed back into the hole behind the portrait. Luna waved Aberforth goodbye, and then she and Snape followed Longbottom.

'They'll all be so happy to see you!' exclaimed Longbottom, still smiling.

'The DA, you mean?' asked Luna brightly. 'I'm happy to see them too! Will they all be there?'

'Yeah,' said Longbottom. 'Most of us live permanently in the Room in Requirement now.'

'You _live _in the Room of Requirement?' asked Snape, incredulously.

'Well, yes,' said Longbottom, shrugging. 'We needed to get away from the Carrows. It was either getting taken prisoner, or fleeing to the Room of Requirement. We still do things to bug the Carrows though, and they never manage to catch us – it drives them crazy.'

Snape was amazed, and not solely at the fact that there were now people living in the Room of Come and Go. Longbottom had undergone a complete transformation: gone was the stuttering, stumbling boy – the Longbottom that was now leading them down the passageway was a fierce young man. To say Snape was impressed was an understatement.

Not that he'd ever tell anyone so.

They seemed to have finally reached the end of the passageway, and Luna and he watched as Longbottom opened another hidden door and the sound of conversation drifted in.

As soon as Snape and Luna stepped into the Room of Requirement, a hush fell over the room's occupants. The silence only lasted for a few seconds – then the students began screaming.

'Luna, Luna, is it true? Did Snape save you?'

'What are you here to do? Is it something to defeat You-Know-Who?'

'Have you come to kick out the Carrows?'

'Guys, let them breathe,' said Longbottom, and the crowd of students backed off somewhat. Snape was grateful for the interference.

'There's something Severus and I have to get,' said Luna, and all eyes were immediately drawn to her. 'Something we hope will help us defeat the Dark Lord. But in order to retrieve it, we will need to ensure the Carrows don't catch on to us.'

'Which is why we'll be providing a distraction,' added Longbottom. 'We have to get the Carrows as far away from the library as possible – and therefore we'll be making a mess in the dungeons. Who's with me?'

There was overwhelming cheering and screaming. Longbottom nodded, satisfied, then turned to Snape and Luna, and said, 'Wait five minutes, then do what you need to do. I can grant you half an hour, but that's it.'

'Thanks, Neville,' said Luna, seriously. 'You're a true friend.'

Longbottom smiled brightly, then turned back to the group. 'Come on people, let's go!'

And with that, they all exited and Snape and Luna were left blissfully alone.

Well, almost alone. A nervous red-headed first-year was still sitting in a corner: Snape supposed the child was tasked with keeping watch. Snape had time to look around for the first time. As Longbottom had said, the Room of Requirement seemed to truly have adapted to its occupants' needs. There were hammocks as well as banisters in the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw colours. Also present were comfortable chairs and bookcases, and Snape even saw a door that might lead to a bathroom. When one added Aberforth's food to that, it was a pretty decent living place.

'Five minutes have passed,' squeaked a voice from the corner. Snape and Luna automatically turned to look at the first year, who looked close to fainting out of sheer nervousness.

'Thank you,' said Luna, kindly. She looked at Snape, and he, understanding the look, took out the Cloak of Invisibility and threw it over the two of them. The first year's eyes were big as they disappeared from sight and left through the exit Longbottom had gone through earlier.

Snape had already taken the Map, and tapped it while whispering 'I swear that I am up to no good,' and feeling very ridiculous doing so. Moments later, ink welled up from the parchment and Hogwarts appeared before their eyes. The area around the library seemed clear. Snape's eyes drifted toward the dungeons: most of the DA was gathered there. The tiny dots that depicted Amycus and Alecto Carrow were already headed toward the dungeons – the DA must have set their plan into action.

Wasting no time, they began to walk toward the library. There was no one around to see their disembodied feet, and as such they could walk at a brisk pace.

Once there was a particularly tense moment when Snape had not looked at the map for some time and they almost ran into Argus Filch, but they managed to pass him by. They reached the library without any further complications.

Snape quietly guided Luna toward the Restricted Section, which was hopefully where they would find the book. Snape decided to take a risk and light his wand: it would be impossible to find the book otherwise. Luna did the same next to him.

'You know what book to look for,' whispered Snape. 'If we stand back to back, we'll be able to check two shelves at once while still remaining invisible.'

Luna made an affirmative gesture, which caused the Cloak to shift oddly over Snape's head. Moments later, they were standing back to back, and Snape was rapidly scanning the volumes on the shelf. After about ten minutes of browsing increasingly dangerous and disturbing books, he finally discovered _Moste Darke Arts_.

He nudged Luna to alert her to his discovery, and allowed his hand to slip out from beneath the cloak in order to grasp the book. He did not feel comfortable taking the book just like this, but there was not enough room to perform any detecting spells while under the Cloak. He let out a relieved sigh when nothing happened as he took _Moste Darke Arts_ off the shelf. He had half expected the Carrows to booby trap the more dangerous books, but apparently they had been too careless for that.

They both extinguished their wands and began to move out of the library. The moment they walked out of the library, however, a shrill bell sounded. Snape froze in mid-step and felt Luna do the same next to him. Apparently he had rejoiced too early.

_Well_, he thought bitterly, as footsteps rapidly approached, _it seems I should be more careful of whom I accuse of carelessness_.

The Carrows appeared around the corner. Alecto wore a hungry look on her face as she demanded: 'Well? Where are they? Where are they, Amycus?'

'I don't know!' said Amycus, looking slightly more stupid but just as eager to catch someone as his sister. 'They have to be around here somewhere! The alarm …'

Snape marvelled at the stupidity of those two. Instead of simply casting a charm to see if there was anyone in the hallway, they attempted to find Luna and him merely by looking. Not that anything would have penetrated the Cloak.

Indeed, no spells could pierce it – but the Carrows were flailing about so carelessly that it was only a matter of time before they bumped into Luna and him, and Cloak or no Cloak, they were still solid. He attempted to discreetly back them both up against the wall, but it was already too late. Alecto had stumbled into them.

'Aha!' she screamed, seizing a fold of the Cloak and pulling it off Luna and him.

Deciding that all hope of escaping unnoticed had gone, Snape rapidly drew his wand in order to Stun the two. However, he had not been anticipating Amycus' uncharacteristic speed. His wand flew from his hand before he could use it, and fell uselessly on the ground next to Luna's wand.

'Well, well, what have we here?' crooned Alecto, still wearing that greedy expression. 'An escapee and a traitor. Oh yes, the Dark Lord will be very pleased to see you.'

Amycus laughed his wheezy laugh and Snape had to fight the urge to strangle the man, magic be damned. He felt Luna's fingers on his own, and moments later her hand had discreetly closed around his, keeping him in place.

'I may be a traitor, but at least I have more than one brain cell,' sneered Snape, pretending not to notice Luna's raised eyebrows at the comment.

It took the Carrows a moment or two to work out they'd been insulted. Alecto was the first to catch on.

'Well, maybe,' she shrugged, 'but at least _I _didn't fall for some stupid booby trap.'

Merlin's balls. He knew he'd been forgetting something.

Amycus took a step toward them, breathing heavily. Luna did not recoil, though her grip on Snape's hand tightened.

'If it ain't the little blood traitor,' spat Amycus, coming sickeningly close. To Luna's credit, she did not so much as flinch. 'I'll enjoy killing you. You may have managed to escape the first time: you won't be so lucky this time around.'

'Fuck off, Carrow,' growled Snape.

'What's that, Snape? Worried your girlfriend will get all the fun? Well, don't you worry, we'll kill you off too, just as soon as the Dark Lord has finished torturing you.'

And with that, both of the Carrows burst into laughter.

'Tie them up, Amycus,' ordered Alecto. 'We'll take them to _him_.'

And as she spoke, she rolled up her sleeve. Her finger was above the Dark Mark, moments away from touching it. Snape feared the worst.

Then something very peculiar happened. Alecto looked extremely surprised for about two seconds, then toppled over without ever having touched the Mark. Amycus stared at her bewilderedly – the next moment, he'd toppled over too.

'Well done, both of you,' came a voice with a familiar Scottish accent. 'A first year could have improved on that.'

'Minerva,' breathed Snape, having never been more glad to hear her voice. 'I must not have been thinking clearly.'

Snape pulled his fingers out of Luna's grasp: there was no need for Minerva to get more suspicious than she already was usually.

He need not have worried. Minerva looked much too distracted to really notice any details. Tears were pooling in her eyes. 'Is it true?' she whispered. 'Did you save Miss Lovegood and Ollivander?'

Luna stepped forward. 'He did,' she said clearly. The older woman's eyes snapped to the girl. 'If it weren't for Severus, I'd be dead now.'

Minerva tried to repress a sob but failed rather badly. The next moment, she had thrown herself at Snape, sobbing into his chest. 'I'm so sorry!' he caught in between the sobs. 'All this time … all this time I thought you were with _him_, I thought you had betrayed us … But it all seemed so … You killed Albus!'

She appeared to be trying to justify herself. Snape gently pried her away from his chest.

'I know,' he said, calmly. 'It was something Dumbledore asked of me. I did not approve of doing it – however, I had foolishly given him my word.'

Minerva looked bewildered for a second or two, and then realization seemed to dawn upon her. 'He was dying,' she said. It was not a question. 'His hand …'

Snape nodded. 'Exactly. He was dying anyway, and he preferred to save Draco Malfoy's soul …'

'I am so sorry, Severus,' said Minerva, quietly. 'I feel so awful now …'

'Don't,' he said. 'It won't help you.'

'Well …' Minerva looked away. 'What are you here for anyway? And why is Miss Lovegood here?'

'I came to retrieve something, and Miss Lovegood is here to assist me.'

Minerva raised an eyebrow but did not comment on his new partner otherwise.

'Well, have you found that something?' she asked briskly.

'Yes,' answered Snape, his hand tightening around the shrunken book in his pocket.

'You'd best be leaving, then,' said Minerva, stepping back. 'I'd like to chat with you for a while longer, but I'm afraid it won't be long until the Dark Lord becomes aware of the situation.'

Snape nodded in agreement.

'I presume you entered through Aberforth's pub?'

'Yes, we did,' answered Luna.

Minerva nodded. 'I would advise you to leave via the grounds and Disapparate just beyond the gates of Hogwarts. That way, you won't activate the Caterwauling Charm.'

'We shall do that, then. Goodbye, Minerva.'

He picked up the Cloak from where it had fallen on the floor and threw it over Luna and himself.

As they vanished, Minerva said, 'Goodbye.'

Snape seized Luna's arm and began pulling the reluctant girl along. They needed to make a quick exit: the sooner they were out of this place, the better. Snape did not bother attempting to hide their feet – the halls were mostly empty again, and any stray students would hopefully attribute the floating feet to ghosts. The two most dangerous people had been taken care of: the Carrows were still lying unconscious in a hallway somewhere. There would be hell to pay when they woke up.

Snape inwardly cursed himself for endangering both the faculty and the students with his actions, however, right now keeping Potter from dying was priority. He'd just have to hope there would be no casualties.

Oh, what a nice place the world would be if only the Dark Lord was gone.

They had reached the front doors, which were unlocked – apparently some imbecile had forgotten to check them. He pulled Luna along, and they rushed across the castle grounds. Soon they had reached the gate, and Snape pushed it open. It creaked loudly in the quiet night. Wasting no time (and feeling decidedly uncomfortable out on the deserted grounds) Snape gripped Luna's arm a little more tightly and Disapparated them both.

When they reappeared, the clearing they were standing in was strangely quiet. There were no birds singing, no small animals scurrying away, no rustling of leaves. Snape quickly undid the enchantments he himself had put up, and the tent shimmered into being. As soon as Luna and he had stepped into the protected circle, he put the enchantments back up again. When he had finished, he took the cloak off both of them and they hurried inside.

They were greeted by a weak, exhausted-sounding cough. Luna's forehead creased, and she rushed to Ollivander's bedside. Snape followed closely behind.

The old wandmaker did not look well. He was as pale as Snape had ever seen him, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was still coughing up blood, and Luna had already taken to pressing a handkerchief to his mouth. Snape averted his eyes – this was not a pleasant sight to behold, not least because he knew what happened to people who looked like Ollivander did just now – they died. Even with magic, there was no fixing some things. Ollivander was old and broken – there was no hope left for him.

Ollivander finally managed to stop coughing long enough to speak. 'Luna, child,' he whispered, his voice broken. 'I should like to talk with you before I … before I go. It won't be long, now.'

The creases in Luna's forehead deepened, and Snape noticed that her eyes shimmered oddly in the dim light. Catching Ollivander's eyes, he backed off quietly – this talk was private, and he'd wait outside.

* * *

Luna knelt next to Ollivander's bed. Her hands were in the wandmaker's – the old man kept a firm grip on them as he looked at Luna. Luna, as usual, had the feeling of being pierced right through by those blue eyes. She blinked several times, trying to will the unbidden tears away. Must be a case of the Aslas – they tended to make the eyes water.

'Luna, child, you know that I will not live much longer,' sighed Ollivander. Luna opened her mouth to protest, but Ollivander said, 'No, don't interrupt. You know it, and there is no use in denying the inevitable.'

'But you can't die yet,' protested Luna. 'You survived Malfoy Manor … you survived _him_. Surely you can hold on a little longer.'

Ollivander's gaze softened somewhat and his grip on her hands tightened. 'I know, child, but there are some things that time cannot fix, and we all must say goodbye at one point. It is only natural. I want you to understand that.'

Luna nodded slowly. 'I understand.' The tears were threatening to spill over – those annoying Aslas!

'And there is something else I want you to know, too. When we were in that dreadful place' (Luna knew instinctively that the wandmaker was referring to Malfoy Manor) 'you were the only thing that kept me going. I had already given up by the time you arrived, but you showed me that there is always hope. You have been such an inexpressible comfort to me in that dark, dark place.'

'And you to me,' said Luna.

Ollivander smiled. 'You know that I will always be grateful to you, child. You have taken care of me so well: I couldn't have asked for more.'

Luna smiled sadly. A tear slipped out of her eye.

'Don't cry, child,' said Ollivander. 'This is just as nature is.'

'I understand,' said Luna, and she did.

'I am glad you do,' said Ollivander, smiling tiredly. 'Now, if you would be so kind as to call Snape in …'

Luna nodded, and went outside to fetch Severus, wondering what Ollivander wanted to say to him.

* * *

He had been standing outside, enjoying the cool morning air, when Luna reappeared.

'Severus,' she said, putting a small hand on his arm. 'He would like to see you.'

Snape turned around, surprised. 'Me?' he asked, somewhat incredulously.

Luna nodded. 'Yes.'

And with that, she gently pushed him toward the tent. He had no choice but to enter.

Ollivander was already sitting up, waiting for him. Snape slowly neared the bedside, wondering what the old man could possibly have to say to him. Certainly, they weren't on the best of terms, but for the wandmaker to confront him with that weeks before his death would be very crude indeed.

'Snape,' said Ollivander, nodding. The wandmaker gestured toward the chair which Luna usually occupied, and Snape sat down cautiously. 'You must be wondering why I asked for you,' sighed Ollivander.

'Yes,' agreed Snape.

'I am certain you remember that time when you bought a wand from me. The only time.'

'I remember,' said Snape.

'Do you recall now what I said to you then?'

'Every word. "I cannot sell this to you," is what you said. "You will only ever do evil with it."'

Ollivander visibly winched when Snape recounted the event. 'Yes,' he rasped. 'I am so sorry now. I was wrong to judge you. It is an annoying habit of mine – I judge people, and I tend to be right. In all my life, I never thought I would ever be wrong. And when I did turn out to be wrong, I denied it to myself. I told myself that you had to be evil – you just had to be. But you weren't, deep down, and I know that now. I apologize for what I said all those years ago. Know that it … pains me to have treated you so unjustly. With age, one forgets what it is like to be young. I forgot what it is like to change.'

Snape said nothing. He had been expecting a verbal whipping, an argument – but instead he had received an apology.

Ollivander was still looking at him, clearly waiting for an answer. Snape noticed that the old man looked tired and nervous, and he could not find it in himself to deny the wandmaker some peace in what might very well be his last weeks on earth.

'I forgive you,' he said, the words tasting odd on his tongue. 'Back then, I would only have done evil with it …'

Ollivander nodded, clearly relieved. After a few moments, he said, 'There is something else I want to say.'

Snape's heart sank – things had been going much too smoothly to continue for long. 'Yes?'

'It's about Luna.'

'Oh.' Well, that couldn't be too bad.

'Don't break her heart,' said the old man honestly.

'What?'

'Don't break her heart. You like her, don't you?'

'I-'

'She's special. One of a kind. Be careful with her. I would hate to think that she should ever be unhappy.'

'I don't – '

'Just promise it,' said Ollivander.

Snape blinked. 'Very well, I promise, though I can tell you now that I have not made any advances toward her.'

'But you will,' said Ollivander sagely. And with that, he reclined into his pillows and closed his eyes, obviously exhausted.

* * *

**AN 2: **Ollivander is of course referring to the instance described in chapter three of this fanfiction.


	8. Chapter 8

**IMPORTANT! I don't believe an email went out for the last chapter, so I ask you to go back and make sure you've read the previous chapter before moving on to this one. Thanks!**_  
_

_Chapter eight_

Snape and Luna pored over the ritual depicted in _Moste Darke Arts_. The instructions were clear – and horrible. Most of them entailed chanting and candles and magical circles, but there was one truly disgusting part – to bring someone back to life, another person had to be sacrificed. A life for a life. Snape surmised that there had to be a balance – people could not be brought back from the dead endlessly.

The other horrendous part was that, in order to destroy the Horcrux, they would have to stab Potter through the heart with Gryffindor's sword. Snape did not like to imagine the pain the boy would feel in his final seconds. But merely stabbing the boy would not be enough according to the book: he would have to be killed by someone who completely and truly loved him, and Harry himself would have to be completely accepting of his death.

Snape and Luna agreed quickly that the best person for the job was Granger, seeing as she loved Potter most. It seemed harsh to let the Granger girl suffer more, but after studying the instructions for hours, Snape knew that it was the only way.

And then there was the small matter that they could not be sure the ritual would actually work. Ollivander had seen it enacted, and Snape was fairly certain that it could work after studying the chants, but it no doubt remained risky. Still, the ritual was probably safer than allowing Potter to walk to his own death facing the Dark Lord. Piercing the boy through with a sword might be a thousand fold more cruel than using _Avada Kedavra_ – if the boy returned to life with the Horcrux gone, it would all be worth it.

Now the only difficulty that remained was convincing Luna to let Ollivander go.

Luna still looked peaceful and serene when Snape made her pull up a chair next to Ollivander's bed and sat her down to talk, but by the time he had finished explaining that Ollivander would be the sacrifice for Potter's life, her cheeks had turned red and her mouth had turned into one tight line.

'No,' she said, her voice remarkably void of the dreamy quality it normally processed.

'My sweet child,' Ollivander began, speaking softly, 'It is only natural that I should be the one to die. I am old, I have lived my life. I will be dead soon enough anyway.'

'But why should you die in this way? You deserve to die peacefully, not as some sacrifice!'

'Luna,' Snape started, but she raised her hand to quiet him.

'You don't understand,' Ollivander sighed, searching for Luna's hand and finding it. 'This will give my death meaning. My whole life I've been a coward. My whole life I've hidden behind other people, taking no sides and staying out of the way. Now I can finally do something important.'

'But ...'

'Please, Luna, give me the chance to do this. I cannot think of a better way to die. I'll finally be able to do something in return for all the wizarding world has given me.'

Luna looked at Ollivander for a long moment. Then she squeezed the wandmaker's hand and nodded. Snape closed his eyes and let out an inaudible sigh. It was time to contact Potter and tell him about the ritual.

'Luna,' he said, his voice hoarse.

The girl looked up. 'Yes?'

'I think it would be ... prudent to contact Mr. Potter.'

'Yes.' Luna let go of Ollivander's hand, and reached into her pocket, taking out her treasured Galleon. She pointed her wand at the coin and muttered an incantation. For a fleeting second Snape saw words light up on the coin, then they disappeared.

They did not have to wait long for Potter to reply. When the Galleon burned, Luna turned it over in her hand and read the message.

'They're asking why we want them to come,' she told Snape.

'Tell them to just show up. This is not a matter that can be explained through coins.'

And Potter and Granger did show up, albeit grudgingly. Luna made them sit at the kitchen table and prepared tea. Only when everyone was seated at the rickety kitchen table with a mug of steaming tea in their hands did Snape allow Potter to speak.

'Why have you contacted us?' asked Potter, straight to the point.

Snape shook his head. 'In a moment. How many Horcruxes have you destroyed?'

'We destroyed all of them save for Harry and Nagini,' answered Granger.

'Good,' said Snape, 'for we have found a way that we think will help us get rid of Harry's Horcrux.'

A hush fell over the group. It was only broken by the sound of smashing china – Potter had dropped his tea cup. Snape repaired it soundlessly.

'That's brilliant!' breathed Granger.

'How?' asked Potter.

'I will explain it to you in a moment,' continued Snape. 'However, there are several things you need to know. There is a ritual that can bring the dead back to life, but in order to do that, you will of course have to die first.'

Granger gasped audibly.

Potter balled his fists. 'Die?'

'Yes, Potter. And you will have to be completely accepting of it. What is more, you will need to be stabbed through the heart.' Snape noticed he was rattling off the facts, as though by relaying them in the shortest time span possible he could somehow reduce their impact.

'Stabbed?' shrieked Granger.

'Yes,' Snape told her. 'With Gryffindor's sword. And you will need to do it, Miss Granger, that is imperative.'

Granger looked as though she might faint at any moment. Luna inched her chair closer to the quivering girl and put an arm around her shoulder.

'Is that all?' asked Potter, his voice betraying no emotion.

'No,' said Snape. 'There is a chance that this might not work. We think it will, but we cannot be completely certain.'

'I'm willing to take the risk,' said Potter fiercely. 'It's better than allowing him to finish me off without a second thought.'

Snape nodded. 'I expected no less of you, Potter. However, there is one last thing. In order for you to come back to life, someone will have to die in your stead. They will absorb your death, as it were.'

A silence fell over them once again. Then Potter loudly said, 'No.'

'Harry, listen,' Luna began.

Potter cut her off. 'No one will die for me. I won't allow it.'

'Harry Potter,' came an exhausted voice. Ollivander had stepped out of the shadows. 'I am willing to take your place.'

'No way.'

'Listen to me, you silly boy,' said Ollivander, advancing still. 'You are special. You are the only one who can save us.'

'Even so, I can't allow you to – '

'My dear boy,' Ollivander laughed weakly. 'I am already dying. I have another week, maybe two, at most. My body is deteriorating. I feel the strength slipping from me every day. I will not make it. Please do me the favour of making my death a meaningful one.'

Potter looked thoughtful for the first time. 'Well … Are you certain? Maybe you won't die!'

Ollivander shook his head in quiet amusement. 'I will die before the month is out, Harry Potter. It is as certain as the night that follows the day.'

Granger had put her hand over Potter's. 'Harry, he is right. He wants to help. Think about it: doing this will save your life and give meaning to his death. It's the right thing to do. It's the _kind_ thing to do.'

Potter sighed deeply. 'Oh, very well then.'

'Good,' said Snape, sitting up straighter. 'We will need a home base. I will not perform this ritual out in these dangerous forests – it will be difficult enough as is. Do you know a place that is relatively safe?'

Potter looked doubtful. 'I don't think there …'

'There is,' said Granger, suddenly. Potter looked at her in surprise. 'Shell Cottage,' said Hermione stone-facedly. 'Bill and Fleur will have us.'

'But Hermione …'

'No, Harry, we have gone out of Ron's way long enough. I will not risk your life over some stupid quarrel.'

'Fine.' Potter looked resigned.

'Well, if that's settled, I suggest we waste no time and leave straightaway.' Snape got up from his chair. Potter looked shocked at the announcement, but stood anyway.

With so many extra hands, it did not take long to get packed. When they were ready, Potter took a hold of Ollivander, and Hermione took Luna and Snape by the arm. Together they Disapparated.

When they appeared again, Snape could hear the sound of rolling waves. He opened his eyes and discovered they were standing on a beach. He had to admit it: Shell Cottage was truly gorgeous. The little house was covered completely by shells of all colours. It was quite the sight.

Someone had walked out of the house at their arrival. By the redness of his hair, Snape surmised that the man heading toward them must be Bill Weasley.

'Harry, Hermione!' he said, as he walked toward them. 'I haven't seen you in so long!'

'Hello, Bill,' said Harry, shaking Bill's hand. 'How are you?'

'Fine, thank you. But to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?'

'To be truthful,' said Potter, 'we need a quiet place where we can perform a certain ritual.'

'A ritual?' asked Bill, concern crossing his face.

'Yes, I'll explain in a moment,' said Potter. 'I hope we're not intruding on your hospitality, though …?'

'No, you're more than free to stay,' said Bill. 'And of course you can perform that ritual here. Anything to help you …'

Bill turned to Snape, Luna and Ollivander. 'Severus Snape,' he said.

'Yes. I am not what – '

'I know,' Bill interrupted. 'McGonagall's been spreading the word. Of course, we all pretty much knew when you freed _them_,' he nodded towards Luna and Ollivander. 'You're all more than free to stay.' Bill shook Ollivander's and Luna's hand, then invited them all inside.

They entered into a living room, bright, pretty, with light wooden floors and a merry fire of driftwood. A pretty girl came drifting out of a room that was probably the kitchen. Snape recognized her as Fleur Delacour, one of the contestants in the Triwizard Tournament.

''Arry!' she exclaimed, hugging Potter thoroughly. 'I am so 'appy to see you. All of you,' she said, turning to the rest. 'But what are you doing 'ere?'

'They need somewhere to stay, Fleur,' said Bill quietly. 'They need a quiet place to perform a ritual.'

'A ritual?' repeated Fleur.

'Look, why don't we all sit down, and I'll explain,' said Potter.

They did as he had asked them to. Once they were settled, Potter began to tell about the mission Dumbledore had left them, about the Horcruxes and which ones they had destroyed, how he himself was a Horcrux (here Fleur had gasped and Bill had paled) and that they were going to get rid of it through the ritual.

'So, that's the whole story,' concluded Potter, looking at Bill and Fleur. 'Are you still willing to help us?'

'_Mais oui!_' exclaimed Fleur. 'You saved my sister's life, 'Arry, I do not forget.'

Bill nodded in agreement. 'Anything we can do to help. We want that bastard down as much as the next person.'

Potter looked touched. 'Thank you, I –'

There was the sound of a stair creaking, and a hush fell over the group. All eyes were on the door, which slowly creaked open to admit Ron Weasley.

'Hi,' said the redhead.

Potter jumped up. 'You! What are you doing here?'

Weasley looked sheepish. 'Well, I couldn't really go home after I left you, now could I? That would've looked stupid.'

'Oh yeah, real stupid,' spat Potter. 'Not that we didn't think you were stupid, anyway, leaving us out there like that!'

Weasley looked at his feet. 'I'm sorry,' he said, almost inaudibly.

'What's that?' demanded Potter, furiously. The rest of the room watched the confrontation breathlessly.

'I'm sorry!' repeated Weasley, looking up.

'And?' asked Potter.

'I was stupid!' Weasley wailed. 'I was selfish and a whiner and an idiot, and I should have never walked out on you! I regretted it the moment I left! I splinched a nail trying to Disapparate!'

'Oh, you splinched a nail, didn't you?' said Granger, speaking for the first time. 'Imagine losing fingernails, Harry, that really puts our suffering into perspective, doesn't it? Well Ron, while you were mourning your nail, Harry and I destroyed nearly all of the Horcruxes, Harry almost died' (Weasley's mouth fell open) 'but was saved at the last moment by Professor Snape, only to discover that he needed to die anyway, because he's a bloody Horcrux!'

Snape didn't think he had ever seen Granger look so dangerous. She was positively crackling with anger. Apparently, Weasley thought the same thing, for he took a step backwards.

'I … that's … that's awful!'

'As awful as losing fingernails?' asked Granger sarcastically.

'Look, I know I'm an idiot,' said Weasley, desperately. 'And I'm not worthy of being your friend. But you have to believe me when I say there's nothing I regret more than leaving! If I have to spend my whole life making things up to you, I'll do so, gladly! I've been so stupid. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?'

Granger still looked furious, but Potter sighed deeply. 'Ron, this won't be fixed in a day. But if you are as sorry as you say you are, I'm willing to give you a second chance.'

Weasley perked up visibly. 'I won't waste it!'

'You had better not,' sniffed Granger.

'Good, now zat is out of the way,' said Fleur, standing, 'are you ready for dinner?'

There was a murmur of agreement, and Fleur swept into the kitchen. After a moment, Granger got up and followed Fleur, closing the door behind her.

'I'm taking a walk,' Potter announced abruptly. Moments later, he had stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Weasley looked sheepish again, and disappeared upstairs quietly.

'Mr Weasley?' began Luna.

'You can call me Bill,' said Bill, kindly.

'Is there anywhere Mr Ollivander can rest? He's very tired.'

'Of course,' said Bill. 'There is an empty room upstairs, Ollivander can stay in there. Shall I take you upstairs?'

'Oh no, we'll find it, for sure' said Luna, grabbing Ollivander's arm. 'Thank you!'

And with that, they disappeared up the stairs slowly. Snape was grateful to Luna – he knew instinctively that she would stay upstairs with Ollivander for a while, giving him the chance to talk things through with Bill.

'About this ritual …' began Bill.

'Yes,' said Snape.

'What are the chances of it working?'

'I'd give it about eighty percent.'

Bill looked troubled. 'That's quite the gamble.'

'I know,' admitted Snape. 'But it's better than sending Potter to his death facing the Dark Lord. This way, he'll at least stand a chance.'

Bill nodded. 'What preparations are required?'

'Not many. A stone circle will have to be laid, some candles are required, and the women will need to learn the chant.'

'Just the women?'

'Just the women. Some rituals work like that – female voices have different qualities and powers than male voices.'

'And Potter needs to be stabbed with the sword?'

'Yes. And Granger has to do it, that's imperative.'

'Why her?' inquired Bill.

'It needs to be done by someone who truly loves him,' said Snape.

A look of understanding passed over Bill's face. 'I see.'

'Will any of this be a problem?'

'No,' said Bill, immediately. 'As I said, we'll do anything to help. This is the least we can do. Fleur will help you with the preparations for the ritual, she's good at those things.'

Snape nodded his thanks. Just then, there was a creak on the stairs – Luna had come downstairs again.

'Is Harry back yet?' she asked, looking around the room.

'No,' said Bill. 'He's still outside.'

'Oh,' said Luna, looking thoughtful. 'I had better go speak with him.'

And without another word, she disappeared outside.

Bill looked troubled. 'Is she sure that's sensible?'

'Yes,' said Snape, trying to not let the smile that was tugging at the corner of his mouth show. 'She'll know just what to do.'

* * *

Luna found Harry where she had expected him to be: on the shore, looking out at the rolling waves. His hands were deep within his pockets, his nose was red, and he wore a frown. Luna knew that Fleur would take care of Hermione. But someone needed to talk some sense into Harry too, and she was just the person.

'Hi, Harry, are you looking for Kelpies?'

Harry turned abruptly, his face tense. His expression relaxed when he saw her. 'Hi, Luna.'

She went to stand next to him, and joined him in looking at the waves. 'He doesn't mean any harm, you know,' she said, not taking her eyes off the sea.

A slight shift on her right suggested that Harry was looking at her. 'Who are you talking about?'

'Ron. He means well.'

'He's got a funny way of showing it.'

'Ron is not very sensitive,' she said, still not looking at Harry. 'He gets hot-headed. He forgets that other people have feelings too.'

'True.'

'But he's your friend, too. And he's a funny boy.'

'I'm not laughing right now,' said Harry bitterly.

'No. But he's still your friend, and even though he's made a big mistake, he's desperate to make it up to you. We can't all be calm and reasonable. That would be boring.'

'I suppose.'

'But that's not what this is about, is it?' Luna turned to look at Harry for the first time, just in time to catch a fleeting look of surprise.

'What do you mean?'

'You're afraid of what will happen when he finds out you're dating Hermione.'

'I –'

'Don't deny it, Harry. I know.'

Harry sighed deeply. 'It's just … you know … well, he fancied her! And … and so did I. I just didn't know until – '

'Until he left.'

'Yes. And I tried to ignore it, because, you know, he's my best mate. You don't do a thing like that.'

'But then she fell in love with you too,' continued Luna.

'I think she's always been in love, just like me,' sighed Harry. 'And in the end, we just couldn't keep those feelings at bay anymore.'

'It's not your fault,' she said, seriously. 'Things like that happen.'

'Doesn't stop me from feeling bad,' Harry sounded troubled.

'Ron made a choice when he walked out,' she said, calmly. 'He will have to accept that his walking away means things will have changed forever.'

'But I can't help but wonder what would have happened if he hadn't left.'

'The same, I think, eventually.'

Harry looked up in surprise. 'Really?'

'Ron is a funny guy, and a good man, but he's not the one for Hermione. They'd get bored with each other, eventually. They'd be happy for a while, five years, ten, maybe fifteen. But eventually, it would end. And this won't.'

'Is that what you really think?'

Luna met his eyes, saw the hope, friendship, and said, 'Yes.'

A smile appeared on Harry's face. 'Thank you,' he said, quietly. 'I didn't know I'd been waiting to hear that until you just said it.'

Luna smiled back. 'It's okay. This, together, feels like having friends.'

Harry's expression turned solemn once again. 'We _are _your friends, Luna. All of us.'

'I'm glad,' she said, smiling.

'Let's go back inside,' said Harry, looking considerably more cheerful. 'It's getting quite cold.'

* * *

Luna couldn't have talked to Potter for more than a quarter of an hour, and yet, when the two of them returned, Potter looked considerably happier. He even joked as though he did not have a care in the world – indeed, he seemed to have forgotten his impending death. Though hopefully that death would be temporal.

Fleur served them the most delicious dishes, and the atmosphere at the table, though somewhat tense, could have been much worse. Still, Snape was glad for Luna's carefree talks of imaginary creatures, especially when Fleur tried her hardest to deny the existence of those creatures. She could not hold her own against Luna.

'Fine,' Fleur said at last, stacking up the dishes. 'I will grant you zat. But I still do not zink zey are lethal.'

'But they are,' said Luna, seriously. 'Rivas are extremely poisonous.'

Snape helped Fleur take the dishes to the kitchen, despite her loud protests. He felt that it was the least he could do as a token of gratitude for their hospitality.

'Thank you,' he said to Fleur, as they brought the last of the dishes to the kitchen.

'What for?' inquired Fleur, waving her wand and sending the dishes to the sink.

'Having us.'

'Ah, do not mention it. It is a pleasure to 'ave you.'

'I would hardly think so. A bunch of fugitives, dangerous people to be around. Not to mention we're crowding up your house.' Snape wondered vaguely when he'd started to care about what effects his presence had upon other people. He supposed it must be somewhere around the time he'd ended up on the run with Luna.

'Oh, zat is all relative. We are all fighting for ze same cause. Zis is no discomfort to us.'

'Still. Not to mention that your cooking is very fine.'

Fleur flashed him a brilliant smile before shooing him out of the kitchen.

* * *

It turned out Bill had been right about his wife: Fleur proved to be an irreplaceable help indeed. She laid the stone circle for the ritual, prepared the candles, made the girls study the chants. Any thought Snape might ever have had about Fleur being useless was dispelled within moments.

After two days, everything was set for the ritual.

* * *

'That looks really good on you, Mr Ollivander,' said Luna, as Fleur straightened Ollivander's robes.

'I told you zat it would,' said Fleur, satisfied. 'Now all zat is left to do is comb 'is 'air.'

And putting the deed to the word, she produced a comb out of thin air and began to straighten Ollivander's hair.

Ollivander hadn't looked this well in quite some time indeed. He was clean, dressed neatly and he appeared somewhat more rested. However, no amount of beautifying from Fleur could dispel the dark circles beneath his eyes, nor the sickly pallor of his skin.

Ollivander did not seem concerned about the ritual or the fact that he was to die in the least. Rather, Luna imagined that he rather looked forward to it. She supposed it had to be better to be rid of the pain and tiredness than to battle on for several more weeks – suffering all the while. That did not lessen the pain she felt at the prospect of losing her friend, however.

'Zere,' said Fleur, removing the comb from Ollivander's hair. 'All done.'

'Thank you,' said Ollivander politely.

'And not a minute too soon,' added Fleur, looking out of the window. ''Ave you learned your chants, Luna?'

'Yes,' said Luna, nodded. 'And so has Hermione.'

'Very well zen, you can go get your coat. I'll escort Mr Ollivander downstairs.'

* * *

Snape watched as the door to Shell Cottage opened, and a thin strip of light fell onto the ground. Then the door closed again, and he could only dimly make out the shapes of four people.

As the small group neared, Snape's eyes drifted over the spot where the ritual would take place. A large stone circle had been laid, and candles had been placed between the stones at strategic intervals. Fleur had done a fine job indeed. Now, if only the girls had learned chants properly …

The group had at last reached the stone circle, and Snape noticed that Ollivander had been dressed neatly for the occasion. The women had no doubt felt that it was not proper to send him to his death in his ragged old clothes, and Snape had to admit that they were right.

Luna and Fleur helped Ollivander into the stone circle, where he laid down onto the sand. When he was comfortable, Potter stepped into the circle too, and took his place on the ground next to Ollivander.

Granger looked pale, and her eyes were red-rimmed. The sword of Gryffindor hung loosely in her hands. Snape hoped she would have the strength to do what she was supposed to do, or all would be for nothing.

'Do not cry, 'Ermione,' said Fleur to the girl. 'Zis is for ze best. If you show courage now, all will be over in a moment.'

Granger still looked doubtful. 'What if I mess up?' she whispered.

'You won't,' said Harry, confidently. He was lying on his back, looking up at Granger. 'I have complete faith in you. You've never failed to do anything you set your sights on.'

Granger smiled weakly and nodded.

With the sound of the sea all around them, they gathered around the circle, standing at regular intervals.

Ollivander was lying very still, looking up at the night sky above. The stars were reflected in his eyes, and Snape thought that he looked completely calm and in harmony with the world as he listened to the sounds of the waves and watched the stars.

He glanced around. To his left, Luna looked pale but determined. Next to Luna stood Bill, and next to Bill stood Fleur. On Fleur's side was Ron, and next to Ron Granger. He himself was on Granger's left, completing the circle.

Luna was standing closest to Ollivander, and he saw her bend down as the old man attempted to say something to her. Straining his ears, he could just make out the words.

'I can't imagine a more beautiful way to die,' the old wandmaker said.

'Nor can I,' agreed Luna.

'Are you ready?' asked Fleur, her slight nervousness making her French accent thicker. There were murmurs of assent. 'Good. On ze count of zree. One, two, zree!'

The girls began to chant. The words were in Latin, and to Snape, the chanting sounded otherworldly, almost as if the women were singing in voices not from this plane of existence.

Granger was chanting too, though her voice wasn't very loud. Tears were running down her face as she raised the sword. Snape hoped that she wasn't too blinded by her tears to aim for Potter's heart. It would be disastrous if she somehow managed to not stab him through the heart.

He need not have worried. After another nod from Potter, who, just like Ollivander, looked completely calm, Granger raised the sword, then brought it down rapidly. She pierced Potter straight through the heart.

Potter's horrific scream tore the night asunder. There was not a member of their group that did not look completely horrified, and Granger even forgot to chant for several moments. Luckily, as Fleur and Luna carried on, she remembered her task, and began to chant once more, dropping the sword of Gryffindor into the sand, turning the grains red.

Snape watched as the life left Potter's eyes. The boy's breathing became shallow, and at last, stopped completely. Granger's voice broke, but she continued to chant. For several moments, nothing happened, even though the women continued to chant.

Then the miracle occurred. Before their very eyes, the little colour that was left began to leave Ollivander's face, and the old man's breathing grew slower. As the wandmaker became paler, Potter's cheeks once again began to regain colour, though he was still not breathing.

Snape gazed around at the circle. The men were looking in astonishment at the thing that was happening before their very eyes. Weasley's mouth had dropped open. Bill looked at his wife, who continued to chant in a tongue that became more and more unreal. Snape realized that they were no longer chanting in Latin – this was a different language altogether, though he could not place it. The power of the words rippled through the group.

Ollivander wilted before their very eyes. His face became more lined, his hair began to fall out, and he grew more and more pale. His eyes became more distant, and it took Snape several moments to realize that the man was turning blind. The stars, however, were still reflected in the pale blue eyes.

The chant swelled to its climax, and, after one last, painful breath, Ollivander's chest stopped moving, his eyes closed, and his heart ceased to beat.

A tear leaked from Luna's eye.

As the last traces of life left Ollivander, Potter took a sudden gulp of breath, choking. As he coughed, the last colour returned to his face. Snape watched the incredulity, the relief on Granger's face. The blood disappeared from Potter's shirt, and Snape knew instinctively that the wound that killed Potter was gone.

The chant slowed, then finished altogether. After the last few words, Granger dropped onto her knees and pulled Potter into her arms, the latter of which did not appear at all uncomfortable with this gesture. The youngest Weasley did look somewhat uncomfortable, though Snape noted with some relief that the boy did not appear particularly jealous. Another drama was about the least they could use.

Bill and Fleur had appeared next to Luna and him.

'Do you want help? Burying Ollivander, I mean?' asked Bill, with some concern.

Luna shook her head. 'No. Severus and I will do it ourselves.'

Fleur nodded and took Bill by the hand. They followed Potter, Weasley and Granger, who had already gone back to Shell Cottage.

Luna was looking down at Ollivander's body, her eyes still somewhat wet. Snape reached for her hand, found it, and squeezed. She raised her eyes to meet his, and smiled weakly.

'This is how he would have wanted to go,' she said.

'Yes,' he agreed.

'I cannot think of a more beautiful place to bury him,' she said, quietly.

'Nor can I.'

They removed the stones around Ollivander's body, and Snape took the old man into his arms and carried him to a pretty spot beneath some trees. Then he conjured two spades, and they began to dig. Luna did not dig quickly, but she worked steadily. After several hours, they had dug a hole deep enough to put Ollivander into. As Luna climbed out of the grave, Snape lowered Ollivander into it. Then he climbed out himself, and stood next to Luna.

'Do you want to say something?' he asked her.

Luna nodded. 'Goodbye, Mr Ollivander,' she began, quietly. 'You've been a real friend, and a true hero, too. You will be missed. Goodbye.'

'Goodbye,' echoed Snape, unable to find the words to say more.

They picked up their spades once again, and began to cover Ollivander with earth.

When they finally finished, his hands were sore and his skin was broken, and he was certain that Luna couldn't be any better off. Still, she summoned a large, flat rock, and placed it on top of Ollivander's grave.

Flicking her wand, she made words appear on the stone. Snape was impressed by the neatness of the carvings – Luna truly knew her magic. Well, she _was _a Ravenclaw, after all.

When she was finished, the stone read: _'Here lies Ollivander, a friend and a hero'_. As he watched the stone, Snape privately thought he agreed with Luna – he could not think of a more beautiful place to be buried. Here Ollivander would remain, for the rest of time, and he would be remembered by his friends and admirers, always.

This time, it was Luna who reached for his hand. However, she did not stop there. She tugged Snape closer, and, when he stood facing her, a smile appeared on her lips. 'What did Ollivander tell you, back in the tent?'

'He said he was sorry,' said Snape, slowly.

'What for?'

'For something he told me a long time ago.'

'And you forgave him?' she inquired, calmly.

'Yes.'

'Is that all he said?'

'No.' Snape hesitated for a moment. 'He told me not to break your heart.'

'I don't think you can,' she said, confidently. Then she stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips. Snape was too stunned to react, but Luna did not appear to have expected him to. Rather, she took his hand, and led him back to Shell Cottage.


End file.
